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Questions tagged [file-shredding]

26 questions
31
votes
7 answers

Shredding files in windows

Is there a built-in cmd command/utility on Windows that can shred files (delete and overwrite with random data) without the need to use third party software? In linux i would use shred. It a wonderful tool that not only deletes files, but also…
Tawfik Khalifeh
  • 437
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13
votes
7 answers

Does using TrueCrypt makes "file shredding" tools obsolete?

On Windows, I frequently use Eraser, to delete securely the files I remove. I've been looking at TrueCrypt recently, and its whole disk encryption. If I encrypt the whole disk, does that make using secure deletion tools moot? I mean, could someone…
Manu
  • 3,050
4
votes
1 answer

What is the best way to shred files on a SSD

I was about to shred files on a new Solid State Drive but the shredding app warned me it was not a good idea because it would be inefficient and would also reduce the lifespan of the drive. Is there any way to shred files the harshest way possible…
Andres Guzman
  • 157
4
votes
3 answers

How to destroy file contents without deleting files

My goal is to have files of original size that can't be opened (or recovered) in their respective software such as MS Office Word. My purpose is to simulate presence of files while I don't want to share any of the files contents. Ideally file…
Mike
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3
votes
2 answers

Securely delete MySql Database

I am running Mysql5 on a Windows Xp machine on NTFS . I want to permanently delete a database containing sensitive data such that when the operating system is not active it is not possible to use raw disk editors and recovery tools to view and…
iceman
  • 2,510
3
votes
2 answers

Faster tool than shred to make files a bit difficult to recover?

I need to shred files, but there are too many files and shred takes ages for each file. Each file is 4GB. Is there a faster tool than shred -n 1? Strangely, shred -n 1 on a 4GB file takes MORE time than copying a 4GB file to the disk. For the same…
Nicolas Raoul
  • 11,561
3
votes
4 answers

How to shred already removed file on modern filesystem? (randomize free space, journal, tails, ... securely)

Consider the following: mount | grep home ... type reiserfs ... rm -Rf /home/user/over_9000_little_and_big_super_secret_files/ # oops, I should have shredded it instead. How can I properly and securely "initialize free space" to ensure that no…
Vi.
  • 17,755
2
votes
4 answers

How do I wipe a USB drive using dd on cygwin on Windows?

I am trying to use dd to wipe a usb drive using Cygwin on Windows. What should I use for the of argument? dd if=/dev/null of=?
user674669
  • 587
2
votes
1 answer

How to safely zero fill a file in a compressed filesystem in Linux?

I had read that the shred doesn't safely work for compressed filesystems when shredding a file, how this can be accomplished in a compressed fs ?
Tarantula
  • 121
  • 2
2
votes
2 answers

Data Shredder software

We use "eraser" and "o&o safe erase" to shred important documents on hard disk. Does anyone use another software in Windows for wiping, what are the advantages ? Thank you very much.
trante
  • 553
2
votes
1 answer

gnu shred: can I pause/abort/resume?

GNU shred takes quite some time to write over a 500GB HD. Can I pause/abort/resume? I have specified that it should be re-written over 3 times, but can I quit (Ctrl-C ?) and call it a day?
hatmatrix
  • 924
2
votes
1 answer

Does copying and pasting files create sparse files?

Suppose I copy and paste large files numerous times to fill up the free space. Will doing so actually override data into the HD blocks or will it create "sparse" references into existing data in the HD blocks instead? I am thinking of using copy…
superuser4245
  • 21
1
vote
3 answers

What shredding utility can I use?

I happen to know that formatting a disk even 10 times does not destroy everything. Is there a good shredding utility I can use on Linux ?
statquant
  • 255
1
vote
2 answers

FOSS Wipe free space (7, 35 passes)

I know there are tools on linux that can do this (sfill) as well as windows (ccleaner). However I would prefer FOSS that does this. To my knowledge Eraser does not wipe free space... If it does I stand corrected.
anon31097
1
vote
1 answer

Does shredding a hard disk drive decrease its lifetime and/or performance?

I'm trying to shred a 1TB hard disk drive with this command: dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count="total sector number " But unfortunately, I'm interrupted twice because of power failure. So before I start again, I wanna know if doing so would…
TerminalOfLove
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1
2