Why Use Eraser?
Even then, disk maintenance or file recovery tools can usually recover data from the original file. Eraser securely removes sensitive information from HDDs by overwriting the file several times with specific patterns.
When a file is deleted from your computer, the only data erased from the hard drive is a small bit of information that points to the location of the file. The actual file remains on the hard drive, where it can be retrieved with common software tools. A decade ago, he said people would put a lot of effort into shredding disks — frequently even physically chopping disks into pieces before disposing of them. Now, however, Garrett said Eraser is more likely to receive inquiries from datacenters, businesses, and government organizations rather than regular, individual users.
Our line of data erasure products goes beyond simply deleting files and will completely erase all data from hard drives and other media. Because SSDs perpetually rearrange files to optimize storage performance, Eraser has a hard time overwriting all the sensitive data. University of California engineers only achieved between 25% and 96% success rates when trying to overwrite and delete files on SSDs.
Eraser is a powerful tool for completely removing sensitive data from your hard drive or an external drive. Eraser can erase folders, individual files, or entire drives on Windows computers.
Eraser comes in a version you can install, which also allows you to add an option to the Windows Explorer context menu to securely erase files within Explorer. You can also download a portable version of Eraser you can take with you on a USB flash drive to delete files you save on other computers.
Eraser makes it very easy to securely delete files, folders, or both. On Microsoft Windows apart from Eraser described in this chapter one can also use CCleaner to securely delete files and folders from Recycle Bin.
There are a few available, but we’ve chosen Eraser, which supports Windows XP or upwards, including Windows 10. Remember, you download third-party software at your own risk – ensure you read all the installation steps carefully and if you aren’t happy, don’t use the software. Freeraser is a free, portable tool that allows you to securely delete files using drag-and-drop. Right-clicking on the Freeraser trash can displays a menu allowing you to manually select a file for deletion and to change the options for the program.
Advanced security tool for Windows Allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns Erases files, folders and their previously deleted counterparts. Eraser is Free software and its source code is released under GNU General Public License. So if you want to securely delete files stored on your hard drive, the simple option is to use a free secure delete utility.
- Advanced security tool for Windows Allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns Erases files, folders and their previously deleted counterparts.
- But, for government employees, lawyers, and other people working with sensitive data, making sure computer forensics specialists can’t restore residual data from deleted files is crucial.
Personal tools
Eraser is a powerful, free tool for completely erasing sensitive data from your computer’s hard drive or an external drive. Eraser can erase individual files, folders, or entire drives on computers running most versions of Microsoft Windows.
In our tests, Eraser got rid of a 1GB file in 10 minutes–impressive, considering we employed the most secure deletion method. Anyone seeking to eradicate documents for good should take a long look at this freebie. Eraser is an advanced security tool for Windows which allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns. Eraser is currently supported under Windows XP (with Service Pack 3), Windows Server 2003 (with Service Pack 2), Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, 8, 10 and Windows Server 2012, 2016. Deleting files from your device is not enough to prevent a leak during a data breach or prevent a hacker from searching your files.
This is much the easiest way to erase hard drives, and companies that decommission lots of PCs should think about buying one. The best known device, the Drive eRazer Ultra, cost about £/$250 when available. Eraser is used to permanently delete or wipe sensitive data from your computer. Eraser will also delete copies of files that may exist in your computer without your knowledge. This includes files you have previously deleted using the standard Windows deletion method, and copies of documents you have worked on in the past.
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Removing personal information, classified documents, or financial records is not as simple as dragging the file to your Windows machine’s Recycle Bin. Deleted files remain on spinning drives, or hard disk drives (HDDs), until the operating system creates another file on top of it. That said, the size and sophisticated storage technology of modern multi-terabyte hard drives make this already difficult technique effectively impossible, but writing over old files several times with random data destroys it irrevocably. If you don’t have a PC, you could buy a standalone hard drive eraser.
However, since the program lacks a dedicate deletion button or icon, you’ll have to dig through the menu items to actually erase data. This misstep is somewhat negated by the fact that Eraser integrates into the Windows’ context menu, letting you shred files via a right click. We’re glad to see the program lets you choose from four secure government-sanctioned deletion algorithms, and we appreciate the inclusion of a scheduler, handy for routinely wiping free disk space.
The latest version offers a tool for wiping the free space on your hard drive. You can wipe the free space on a hard drive or the entire drive, securely deleting all data on the drive. There are four options for specifying how many times the data will be overwritten. DP Shredder is a portable, small program that allows you to securely delete files or directories and to overwrite the free space on a hard drive so files that were deleted previously without using secure methods cannot be recovered. You can easily select the method for deletion, which includes two US DoD-approved methods and the Gutmann method, and how many times (Rounds) the method will be applied.
Another recommended tool that can be used to securely delete files is Freeraser. Eraser is an advanced security tool for Windows that allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns. The patterns used for overwriting are based on Peter Guttmann’s paper Secure Deletion of Data from Magnetic and Solid-State Memory and are selected to effectively remove magnetic remnants from the hard drive. A few minor complaints aside, this free file shredder is by and large a solid find. Eraser’s all-business interface won’t win any design awards, but it’s mostly convenient to use, allowing you to add files or folders to be deleted via drag-and-drop transfers.
Secure File Deletion and Erasure
But, for government employees, lawyers, and other people working with sensitive data, making sure computer forensics specialists can’t restore residual data from deleted files is crucial. Eraser is a free, open-source tool that allows Windows users to wipe files from certain types of hard drives and overwrites the data with carefully selected patterns.