Comments on: 8 Ways to Permanently Delete Data Without Leaving ANY Trace

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:47:23 +0000

I use http://www.safedeleter.com, initially I had to check it by disk editor. and it is really works as described. Several military algorithms like James said above. 35 times overwrite. I feel myself secure with it.

By: comp@ddict

comp@ddict — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 09:05:51 +0000

I usually use the integrated file shredder that comes with DAP(aka Download Accelerator plus).

Works like a charm.

By: john

john — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:53:09 +0000

is “delete history free” even trusted??

By: James Yeang

James Yeang — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:38:54 +0000

Well there is no global standard. US Department of Defense standards require overwriting files at least 7 times, Expert Peter Guttman recommends 35 times, so I guess at some level, unless at some level there will be various levels of success with data recovery.

By 7 times though, most people would already find it quite impossible to proceed.

In my opinion, another option may be to delete everything on the drive, and fill it up to the brim so that every sector of the hard drive is re-used, and there would be no place to store any trace of the old info.

By: CG

CG — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:11:02 +0000

Isn’t it true that even using these utilities will never completely rid a hard drive of a particular file? I understand that modern forensic tools can read a so-called “deleted” file by revealing the magnetization of the drive through multiple layers of depth. When a defrag is done, the file is moved from one location to another on the drive. So “securely” deleting the file at its new location only destroys that copy, not the copy at the location where the file was originally, which may now be overwritten with another file that isn’t deleted. Can’t that copy then be recovered?

Or have I got it all wrong?