How to make sure your files stay deleted

[ayu]

I hate the fact that Windows doesn't delete the data when you remove files from your computer, it only removes them from the folder (it can be described as removing their pointers, but the data is still there).

So I found a neat tool in Windows that will overwrite any such data in a folder. It wont delete files that "exist" so don't worry about that. It will only check for data that isn't allocated to any files or folders, and then overwrite it.

Personally I'm going to use this to delete some data in my download folder, and then encrypt it for future use

Code: Select all

cipher /w:driveletter:\foldername

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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315672

[Dltr]

Oh nice Cats .. Thank You for The Links






Thank You
Dltr

[leetnigga]

I hate the fact that Windows doesn't delete the data when you remove files from your computer, it only removes them from the folder (it can be described as removing their pointers, but the data is still there).

This behavior is the default on many filesystems. What do you do on Linux? alias rm=shred?

[ayu]

This behavior is the default on many filesystems. What do you do on Linux? alias rm=shred?

Isn't rm just a wrapper around unlink?
Friend told me that yesterday, and that shred is another tool.

[DrVirus]

So we run this tool after deleting some data and it will be unrecoverable ???

DrV

[ayu]

So we run this tool after deleting some data and it will be unrecoverable ???

DrV

Well, at least per software methods.
But there are other more advanced methods of recovering data, but usually that's nothing regular people can do (requires some expensive equipment I believe).

So yeah, you could consider the data permanently deleted, but if you want to be 100% sure, then you would have to blow it up or something.

[leetnigga]

Isn't rm just a wrapper around unlink?
Friend told me that yesterday, and that shred is another tool.

`man rm' on my machine says it is. That was my point. You were talking specifically about being annoyed by Windows' behavior and I pointed out that the behavior was the same under Linux with most filesystems and standard tools.

[DNR]

Ccleaner and Kremlin Wipe can be used after you delete files. The idea is to overwrite the sector the file remains in, after the file pointer is deleted.
Ccleaner can also help find other locations that can reveal the file's name or subject matter.

Its not that Windows retains the data in the file sector, but the Windows OS and its applications have a nasty way of keeping file names and locations even after the file has been deleted. While you can target and remove a nasty file like plans_to_attack_USA.txt, or grannysex.jpg - there are so many other hiding places that can reveal the file did at one point exist. Perhaps this was the crux of Cats complaint.

DNR

[IceDane]

You don't really want this to be a filesystem's default behavior.

If you delete a 10 gigabyte folder, do you really want the operating system to write 10 gigabytes of data(0 bytes or something) where it was? It would drastically reduce performance.

[ayu]

You don't really want this to be a filesystem's default behavior.

If you delete a 10 gigabyte folder, do you really want the operating system to write 10 gigabytes of data(0 bytes or something) where it was? It would drastically reduce performance.

Well yeah, but it should at least tell you that somehow, or give you the option to "really" delete it.

[z3r0aCc3Ss]

You can even use Eraser to delete your data efficiently, around 99%. Its not recoverable, and even you recover it, contents are not readable... I think so, coz I have tried it many times.

[Alien1]

Allegedly there are government agencies that can recover data from a drive that has been formatted several times,or even have been overwritten over with zeroing software as mentioned here. If you are storing data on your drive that you wish to protect from these types of agencies, I suggest using a disposable hard drive that you can disassemble and burn, personally i use a "cement overcoat" and a trip to the nearest lake or really deep river.

[moudy]

Allegedly there are government agencies that can recover data from a drive that has been formatted several times,or even have been overwritten over with zeroing software as mentioned here. If you are storing data on your drive that you wish to protect from these types of agencies, I suggest using a disposable hard drive that you can disassemble and burn, personally i use a "cement overcoat" and a trip to the nearest lake or really deep river.

The subject of wiping out information off a HDD was dicussed thoroughly and extensively in previous threads

[ayu]

Me and Shabs thought of a good way to make cipher recursive to overwrite data on the whole drive (not removing existing files/folders of course)

It goes through the whole file system ... 5 times :p

It takes a while to finish, so if you don't want the 5 times then you can simply edit it to your liking. I have read somewhere that the more you overwrite it, the harder it will be to recover it, although I do not have any kind of scientific facts to back that up at the moment, so if you don't believe it then you can just remove the loop and do it 1 time.

Anyway, here's the batch code ^^

Code: Select all

@echo OFF
color 84

echo -=::Starting cipherX::=-

echo This can take some time, go do something else ...

echo Scanning directories
cd /
dir /S /B /A:D > dirs

for %%a in (1 2 3 4 5) do (

	echo Overwriting %%a times

	echo Currently cleaning: C:\
	cipher /w:C:\

	for /F %%b in (dirs) do (

		echo Currently cleaning: %%b
		cipher /W:%%b

	)
)

del dirs
echo ======================
echo =========Done=========
echo ======================
PAUSE

PS: if anyone knows how to make cipher do this without this method, then please do share. Because I haven't found anything that would help to do that with the tool alone (found some old documentation but that didn't seem to work).

[shabs]

Just to turn the paranoia up a notch, you should have run cipher on 'dirs' too