Many people think
that dropping a file into the Recyle
Bin and then emptying the Recycle Bin
is enough to get rid of a sensitive
file or program or graphic, etc. No,
it is not enough. The file is deleted
but not overwritten. When you delete a
file what actually happens is that the
OS removes the reference to the file
from the File Allocation Table (FAT).
This reference had the details such as
where on the disk the file was. So
when the Operating System does not see
this it marks that area of the disk as
free space? but we now know that only
the reference is removed, the data
physically remains on the disk. Even
though the data remains on the disk
the OS believes it’s not there, thus
the file remains on the disk until
another file is created over it, and
even after that it might be possible
to recover data by studying the
magnetic fields on the platter
surface. It could easily be recovered
using free or commercial software. One
thing you could do to make sure the
file cannot be recovered is wipe it
before you "delete" it. There are a
number of free and commercial programs
available for that purpose.
Secure Delete--Securely Deleting Files
You have known
that deleted files can be recovered.
Is it possible to delete a file (and
its associated files, temporary,
spooler, etc.) so that it cannot be
recovered? There are rumors that
government agencies have the
capabilities to recover data that has
been overwritten as many as 21 times.
From a corporate perspective, an
individual will have to determine the
value of his data and determine the
steps that can be considered
"reasonable and practical" to prevent
proprietary data from being stolen or
recovered by competitors or groups
intent on corporate espionage. The
main premise for preventing data from
being recovered is to overwrite it.
The question becomes how many times
should it be overwritten? There are
individuals that believe that
overwriting data only one time is
sufficient to prevent the recovery of
deleted files. However, the more the
data is overwritten, the less likely
it becomes recoverable by any means.
For a drive currently in use, it is
necessary to overwrite slack space and
unallocated space.
Using
Tracks Eraser Pro to Secure delete
files
Tracks Eraser Pro
has a Secure Erasing option, with
which you can secure delete files. it
overwrites files with blank characters
with a set number of times, so we are
confident that once a file is deleted
by Tracks Eraser Pro, the file is gone
forever, no one can recover it.
Click Here to Download
Tracks Eraser Pro
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