Secure Data Eraser

Granted, the general practice of deleting a file entails you send it to Recycle Bin and then empty the container. While you cannot restore the file from there, you should know that actual bits remain written on the drive until another process or application writes over them.

Secure Data Eraser is a small piece of software designed to help you permanently wipe the residue data from deleted files in a single procedure so that it becomes unrecoverable.

The program comes with a wizard-like interface and hence, it should not pose any real issues to users of all computer skills and levels. Upon launch, you are welcomed by a clean splash window that presents you with three options, deleting files and folders, overwriting drives or over the free space on the disks so they become unrecoverable.

Irrespective of the operation you choose, the procedure is simple and straightforward. To put it simply, you can select the data that you want to irreversibly wipe from your computer, pick a deletion algorithm suitable for the sensitivity of data and delete the file, folder or the entire content of a drive.

It is necessary to mention that the utility comes with several wiping algorithms and therefore, you can select a deletion method that overwrites over the data residue in a manner that makes it impossible to recover with the current third-party software solutions.

The app enables you to select a simple and fast wiping algorithm that erases the data and then overwrites the remaining bits with zeros. On the other hand, you can choose a method that overwrites the residue in 7 and even 35 passes using random characters. Among the advanced techniques you can use to wipe work-related documents with sensitive content, you can count the DoD 5220.22-M(ECE), Bruce Schneider and the Peter Gutmann algorithms.

In the eventuality that you are working on your computer at home as well and want to make sure that the sensitive files you delete can never be accessed, then perhaps Secure Data Eraser might come in handy.