Sure Delete, Eraser & File Shredder

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If you think that when you delete a file, it is really gone from you PC, think again - all that happens is that Windows marks the space the file occupied as being available. This means that anyone with a program such as Restoration could probably recover it. Sure Delete, Eraser and File Shredder not only delete the file(s), but overwrite the data, making it essentially unrecoverable. Sure Delete, for instance, offers three deletion methods: a quick wipe (which overwrites the file 4 times, a Department of Defense method (which overwrites the file 7 times with random data), and a Super Secure mode which overwrites it an impressive 24 times. File Shredder and Eraser have 5 and 7 different deletion options respectively with up to 35 passes (over-writes); once installed, both these programmes are listed if you right-click a file or folder, which makes them slightly more convenient to use than Sure Delete.

Obviously, not every single file requires to undergo an extreme form of deletion, but you might have some that do. If so, one of these utilities is really useful!

Available from http://www.wizard-industries.com/, http://www.heidi.ie/node/6 and http://www.handybits.com/shredder.htm