Secure deletion program for Win7

I am looking for an on demand program to erase files/folders in Windows 7 x64 that uses context menus and does not constantly run in the background. Eraser 5.8x is the only program I have found that fits my needs, but it has no official support for Windows 7 and hasn't been updated in just over a year.

Can anyone recommend an alternative, or is Eraser 5.8x still the best?

 

What about Eraser 6.0.8 ?

 

I plan to try the newest version, but I had tried the 6.0. line before and had several issues. First it seemed to have issues erasing folders because even after a reboot, folders would still be left behind with what seemed to be random text strings for their names. Secondly unless I missed a setting, version 6 seems to want to run in the background all of the time and use scheduled tasks instead of being on demand. I would selecting something to be erased using a context menu, but then I had to go run the task in the program for it to actually be erased.

 

Just disable version 6's startup entry. The right-click context menu should still work fine, but Eraser will stay in the background if you use it.

 

PeaZip, I use PeaZip as extract/archive program. It is free, has a good GUI, fast and it can do everything. It also includes a secure delete feature.

 

Darkahl, you may wish to take a look at R-Wipe&Clean.

 

Darkahl, how about EraserDrop Portable (ex-Eraser developer) or File Shredder ? I think EraserDrop might be more suitable for you.

 

CCleaner is all you need...

Here's the settings section for the cleaning; (Secure file deletion)

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/screenshots/screen/ccleaner7

 

Hey There DasFox

I think there is a thread or 2 here where members tested various secure deletion software. While CCleaner if i remember correctly, deleted the file, the "file name" could still be recovered and these days, that's probably enough evidence to bag you

 

Hey tobacco

Look at the URL for the screen shot, for the secure file deletion...

CCleaner has four methods of secure deletion: a Simple Overwrite (1 pass), DOD 5220.22-M (3 passes), NSA (7 passes), and Gutmann (35 passes). A 'pass' refers to how many times CCleaner writes over the spot on the hard drive. The more times CCleaner writes to that spot, the harder the file will be to recover by any means. The drawback is that it will take CCleaner longer to complete the job.

NSA


CHEERS

 

Here is the thread i was thinking about - https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=283335)

In my own basic tests - Eraser performed the best

 

I've been using Eraser for ages, (currently using the bata for 6.2) and it performs flawlessly.

It has the ability to dictate files and folders used in content erasure which helps with plausible deniability. It supports numerous erase methods and has, in my opinion, the best free space wiping capability.

I do use CCleaner, but only for cleaning (with secure deletion) MRUs and Internet history.

One of the nice things about CCleaner, is that it can be extended to support the cleaning of a wide range of applications and system locations through the implementation of a winapp2 Get the Latest Winapp2.ini File file, or via CCleaner Enhancer

On the downside, it does have some issues with the way it names deleted files. See the post above for the relevant thread.

If you really want to make sure you delete every scrap of information from your system, especially from those awkward hidden locations, such as the MFT, $logfile and others, you could investigate Winheex in forensics mode

 

My favourite Internet traces & file wiper is CyberScrub but it isn't cheap, since OP didn't say it had to be free I am mentioning it.

 

If you want Freeware, Eraser remains the best.

If you want Shareware, R-Wipe&Clean is what I suggest.

 

It doesn't matter which one you use, if it does what it is suppose to do, overwrite, then it works, that's all there is to it, bottom line...

Just like chronomatic has said, there is nothing special about any of them, they all do the same thing.

What you guys are falling for is all the Propaganda Sales BS!

So if you're going to have CCleaner do 7 passes, how do imagine anything passed this many times is going to be recoverable at all? It's not...

Now, unless CCleaner has a flaw in it's design and isn't doing this properly but I doubt that, therefore the bottom line we are talking about that people don't seem to get or understand, that we are talking about are the 'Number of Passes' to wipe out something from being recoverable...

If CCleaner does it's job, then there is nothing better, it's all hype...

 

I've yet to see evidence of successful recovery from even an one-pass overwrite.

 

Is formatting a harddisk in quick more or in Win7 which takes a few secs, a one pass overwrite?

If it is, then i have recovered THOUSANDS of files from a friends laptop

 

No, it's not. That's no or zero wipe at all.

 

There is one point to consider, granted it won't concern the majority of users but there are circumstances, where camouflaging file erasure may be important, if not critical. As I mentioned it my earlier post, it's referred to as 'plausible deniability'


Re: Plausible Deniability

Re: Plausible Deniability

CCleaner, whilst providing a more than adequate erase function, unfortunately overwrites the files with a series of ZZZZZZ.ZZ so it's obvious that the file has been erased.

As I said, this is not going to be in the least bit important to the majority.

 

If it's only your surfing habits and if you're so worried about em then forget about erasing apps and use a ramdrive.

 

At a basic operational level (e.g., wiping a specific known file or wiping free space), this is typically true. However, an important area in which these utilities differ is in their embedded knowledge of what needs to be wiped for different applications installed on the PC. For example, when wiping the browsing history, is the wipe utility sufficiently sophisticated to know that it should also destroy the “typed URLs” stored in the registry?

 

Does “camouflaging file erasure” involve anything more than (1) attempting to destroy the file’s name through a renaming process and (2) using random byte values when overwriting the file’s contents?

 

That means overwriting with other legit files instead of random bits.
A forensic investigation can conclude that such software was used if there's lots of random data on the disk, if there's only parts of real data files it looks like any hdd after some usage.

Though I don't buy it, the erasing program can't erase itself, can it? Or are there portable programs you could run from a usb drive?

Either way, this kind of plausible deniability won't make much difference legally speaking. But with the craze about the Investigatory Powers Act et al, who knows?
Technically you could (and "sophisticated" malware already does) hide encrypted information in slack space and "free space". But the legislators haven't thought of that yet.