How to Securely Delete Files in Windows

Deleting files in Windows may seem easy, but it is a difficult task. When you delete a file in Windows, it may seem as if it is deleted, but it can be recovered. Windows does not really remove the file from your hard drive,  only the reference to the file is removed from the table. The file will remain on the drive until it is overwritten by another file. It is easy to recover a deleted file with the help of a disk maintenance tool or file recovery utility. There are several tools available that will help you erase data securely from the hard drives making it impossible to recover. Some of those tools are portable and can be stored on the USB flash drive. Portable secure erase tools are friendly with public computers. Some tools also allow you to securely wipe free space on hard drive.

Freeraser

It is a free portable tool that allows you to delete files securely using drag and drop. You can delete a file with the fast method of filling space with random data with one pass.  With the use of a Forced method that utilizes the DoD 5220.22M, three pass standard or using Ultimate or Gutmann method deleting files by overwriting them with some random stuff 35 times. Clicking right on Freeraser trash can display a menu allowing you to select a file for deletion and to change options for the program.

Eraser

It is one of the best among the available tools to delete files securely. There are several options to delete files that are overwritten with random data. It normally includes two versions of the US DoD 5220.22-M standard and Gutmann method that overwrites the file with randomly generated text 35 times. Files and folders can be deleted immediately using On-Demand interface or scheduled files and folders to be securely deleted at a certain time. Eraser can be installed that allows you to add an option to the Windows Explorer context menu to erase file securely within the Explorer. You also can download the portable version of Eraser that can help in deleting files saved on other systems.

Blank and Secure

It is another portable drag and drops secure file deletion tool. Simply drag files and folders to be deleted and drop them onto the middle box on the Blank and Secure window. You can mention how many times files are to be overwritten by Zeros. You can choose a Delete Delay of up to nine seconds.

Drag and drop the files and folders you want to delete to program window and press Delete. Use Delete+button if you want to end the program, shut your PC, put PC in standby mode or end program.

File Shredder

It is a free and straightforward program that allows you to erase files safely and securely wipe free disk space. This program gives five methods for deleting files that include one pass, two passes, three passes, seven passes and the Gutmann algorithm (35 passes). Open Shredder Settings and choose one of these options on Algorithms tab. You can integrate File Shredder to File Explorer. This will permit you to choose files to remove in explorer, Just a right click and delete them securely from the context menu. Open Shredder Settings and check Enable Shell Integration box on Program Settings tab.

“Charlie Noah is a Microsoft Office expert and has been working in the technical industry since 2002. As a technical expert, David Smith has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as office.com/setup.”