There may be times that you want to wipe and clean your hard drive, usb flash drive or internet history and we list the free software available below.
Many people think that when they delete a file, it goes to the recycle bin until it’s emptied where it’s deleted forever which is NOT the case. Some will turn off the recycle bin thinking that this will do the trick, but still, no go.
In a nutshell, a computer deletes a file by simply deleting the first letter of the filename, not the file as you would expect. It’s like a file cabinet that represents your hard drive and labeled file folders that represent files on your hard drive.
Imagine that rather than take the file folder out and destroying it, a person simply erase the first letter of the label of the file folder and leaves the folder in there. Well, that is EXACTLY what happens on the computer!
What you need is software that will wipe and clean the entire folder (file). Even then, just one wipe may not be good enough – it’s recommend that you wipe the data three times to be absolutely sure recovery is not possible (it’s called a Government Wipe).
Okay, so you know what you’re looking for, so here is the software.
Wipe and Clean
If you are looking for an excellent free tool to erase your hard drive, deleted files and cover your tracks, then this is the software for you. It’s open source and can be modified to your liking and used as many time as you like.
Site: eraser.heidi.ie
WinEraser
This software deletes your internet history and other files that windows stores in an attempt to remove sensitive information and protect your privacy. I don’t believe it does a government wipe, but it’s good enough that you won’t have to worry about the average user.
Site: sourceforge.net/projects/win-eraser/
Darik’s Boot And Nuke
This is an all-in-one boot disk that you stick into the computer, boot into and use to blow away your data forever. Dban will search for and destroy any data on any disks it finds – great for emergency operations plus it includes government wipes.
Site: dban.org
DWIP
Disk WIPe and imaging tool (DWIP) is created using the open source format for the Mississippi State University National Forensics Training Center, can’t get any better than that!
With DWIP, you can do a fast delete or DOD (Department Of Defense) type of wipe where there is no way to ever recover the data. Also verifies the wipes to make sure there is NO CHANCE of ever recovering the data again. Comes with logging and great reporting features! Removed – support contact not found
Site: [snip]
If you know of other programs to delete internet history and/or wipe and clean hard drives, and that is free, please feel free to leave a comment and let us know.