delete files w/zeros

[Phil Robyn]

Read their site, it is not for xp. Most of their other apps list xp, this
app does not list xp. I emailed them asking if it could be used for xp, and
if not when they might have an xp compatible ver, they never responded. One
week later I Emailed them again, and that was two days ago and so far no
response.

P

Take my word for it: it works just fine in XP, regardless of the fact
that they have not updated what it says on their site.

Paul wrote:

s delete is not for xp, and those guys do not respond to Emails.

p

Of course it's for XP.

- - - - - - - - begin screen capture WinXP MCE SP2 - - - - - - - -
c:\cmd>ver

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]

c:\cmd>sdelete /?

SDelete - Secure Delete v1.4
Copyright (C) 1999-2005 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

usage: sdelete [-p passes] [-s] [-q] <file or directory>
sdelete [-p passes] -z [drive letter]
-p passes Specifies number of overwrite passes (default is 1)
-s Recurse subdirectories
-q Don't print errors (Quiet)
-z Clean free space
- - - - - - - - end screen capture WinXP MCE SP2 - - - - - - - -

Paul wrote:


and I would like some personal recommendations.







Looking for, but all that I find say permanently delete files, but no
mention of writing zeros. Need freeware.

is there, outthere?

Google
windows xp secure delete freeware



http://www.sysinternals.com/utilities/sdelete.html

 

[Paul]

ok, so this is the best (most secure) out there?

What about the spybot secure shredder?

Read their site, it is not for xp. Most of their other apps list xp, this
app does not list xp. I emailed them asking if it could be used for xp,
and if not when they might have an xp compatible ver, they never
responded. One week later I Emailed them again, and that was two days ago
and so far no response.

P

Take my word for it: it works just fine in XP, regardless of the fact
that they have not updated what it says on their site.

Paul wrote:


s delete is not for xp, and those guys do not respond to Emails.

p

Of course it's for XP.

- - - - - - - - begin screen capture WinXP MCE SP2 - - - - - - - -
c:\cmd>ver

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]

c:\cmd>sdelete /?

SDelete - Secure Delete v1.4
Copyright (C) 1999-2005 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

usage: sdelete [-p passes] [-s] [-q] <file or directory>
sdelete [-p passes] -z [drive letter]
-p passes Specifies number of overwrite passes (default is 1)
-s Recurse subdirectories
-q Don't print errors (Quiet)
-z Clean free space
- - - - - - - - end screen capture WinXP MCE SP2 - - - - - - - -




Paul wrote:


and I would like some personal recommendations.







Looking for, but all that I find say permanently delete files, but
no
mention of writing zeros. Need freeware.

is there, outthere?

Google
windows xp secure delete freeware



http://www.sysinternals.com/utilities/sdelete.html

 

[Phil Robyn]

ok, so this is the best (most secure) out there?

I don't know . . . it's good enough for me. Depends on what
your requirements are. I had good experiences with Eraser
some years ago, but I prefer a command-line program like
sdelete rather than a GUI. What kind of top-secret files
are we talking about shredding?

What about the spybot secure shredder?

Read their site, it is not for xp. Most of their other apps list xp, this
app does not list xp. I emailed them asking if it could be used for xp,
and if not when they might have an xp compatible ver, they never
responded. One week later I Emailed them again, and that was two days ago
and so far no response.

P

Take my word for it: it works just fine in XP, regardless of the fact
that they have not updated what it says on their site.

Paul wrote:



s delete is not for xp, and those guys do not respond to Emails.

p

Of course it's for XP.

- - - - - - - - begin screen capture WinXP MCE SP2 - - - - - - - -
c:\cmd>ver

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]

c:\cmd>sdelete /?

SDelete - Secure Delete v1.4
Copyright (C) 1999-2005 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

usage: sdelete [-p passes] [-s] [-q] <file or directory>
sdelete [-p passes] -z [drive letter]
-p passes Specifies number of overwrite passes (default is 1)
-s Recurse subdirectories
-q Don't print errors (Quiet)
-z Clean free space
- - - - - - - - end screen capture WinXP MCE SP2 - - - - - - - -






Paul wrote:



and I would like some personal recommendations.









Looking for, but all that I find say permanently delete files, but
no
mention of writing zeros. Need freeware.

is there, outthere?

Google
windows xp secure delete freeware



http://www.sysinternals.com/utilities/sdelete.html

 

[Paul]

What kind of top-secret files

are we talking about shredding?

and why are you asking me this? Who do you work for? Was that you knocking
on my door?

All, I want to do, is be sure noone can ever pull out files that I chose to
shred. U know nsa and all those goons.

ok, so this is the best (most secure) out there?

I don't know . . . it's good enough for me. Depends on what
your requirements are. I had good experiences with Eraser
some years ago, but I prefer a command-line program like
sdelete rather than a GUI. What kind of top-secret files
are we talking about shredding?

What about the spybot secure shredder?

Paul wrote:

Read their site, it is not for xp. Most of their other apps list xp,
this app does not list xp. I emailed them asking if it could be used for
xp, and if not when they might have an xp compatible ver, they never
responded. One week later I Emailed them again, and that was two days
ago and so far no response.

P

Take my word for it: it works just fine in XP, regardless of the fact
that they have not updated what it says on their site.




Paul wrote:



s delete is not for xp, and those guys do not respond to Emails.

p

Of course it's for XP.

- - - - - - - - begin screen capture WinXP MCE SP2 - - - - - - - -
c:\cmd>ver

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]

c:\cmd>sdelete /?

SDelete - Secure Delete v1.4
Copyright (C) 1999-2005 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

usage: sdelete [-p passes] [-s] [-q] <file or directory>
sdelete [-p passes] -z [drive letter]
-p passes Specifies number of overwrite passes (default is 1)
-s Recurse subdirectories
-q Don't print errors (Quiet)
-z Clean free space
- - - - - - - - end screen capture WinXP MCE SP2 - - - - - - - -






Paul wrote:



and I would like some personal recommendations.









Looking for, but all that I find say permanently delete files, but
no
mention of writing zeros. Need freeware.

is there, outthere?

Google
windows xp secure delete freeware



http://www.sysinternals.com/utilities/sdelete.html

 

[Kerry Brown]

What kind of top-secret files

and why are you asking me this? Who do you work for? Was that you
knocking on my door?

All, I want to do, is be sure noone can ever pull out files that I
chose to shred. U know nsa and all those goons.

Then you better be thinking something other than software. The only way to
be 100% sure nsa and all those goons can't read your data is to smash the
hard drive into very small pieces and scatter the pieces.

Kerry

 

[Bob I]

Heck, they already have a copy of what they want, you can't stop it. ;-)

What kind of top-secret files

are we talking about shredding?

and why are you asking me this? Who do you work for? Was that you knocking
on my door?

All, I want to do, is be sure noone can ever pull out files that I chose to
shred. U know nsa and all those goons.

Paul wrote:

ok, so this is the best (most secure) out there?

I don't know . . . it's good enough for me. Depends on what
your requirements are. I had good experiences with Eraser
some years ago, but I prefer a command-line program like
sdelete rather than a GUI. What kind of top-secret files
are we talking about shredding?

What about the spybot secure shredder?



Paul wrote:


Read their site, it is not for xp. Most of their other apps list xp,
this app does not list xp. I emailed them asking if it could be used for
xp, and if not when they might have an xp compatible ver, they never
responded. One week later I Emailed them again, and that was two days
ago and so far no response.

P

Take my word for it: it works just fine in XP, regardless of the fact
that they have not updated what it says on their site.






Paul wrote:




s delete is not for xp, and those guys do not respond to Emails.

p

Of course it's for XP.

- - - - - - - - begin screen capture WinXP MCE SP2 - - - - - - - -
c:\cmd>ver

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]

c:\cmd>sdelete /?

SDelete - Secure Delete v1.4
Copyright (C) 1999-2005 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

usage: sdelete [-p passes] [-s] [-q] <file or directory>
sdelete [-p passes] -z [drive letter]
-p passes Specifies number of overwrite passes (default is 1)
-s Recurse subdirectories
-q Don't print errors (Quiet)
-z Clean free space
- - - - - - - - end screen capture WinXP MCE SP2 - - - - - - - -








Paul wrote:




and I would like some personal recommendations.











Looking for, but all that I find say permanently delete files, but
no
mention of writing zeros. Need freeware.

is there, outthere?

Google
windows xp secure delete freeware



http://www.sysinternals.com/utilities/sdelete.html

 

[PlainDave]

pgp = $$$

Actually, you can download and use PGP for free. Their site says that
after the trial period expires, it reverts to a "limited" version. It
still performs everything that I need, including its secure deletion
(called "wipe"). And I use an older version -- 8.0.3.

I can't imagine needing any more secure file deletion than PGP offers.
Depending on who you ask (this includes "devotees" in the newsgroup
alt.security.pgp), PGP can't even be decrypted/recovered by the NSA. I
wrote the NSA asking about this, and they wouldn't answer. They told
me that they can't confirm nor deny this info. That somewhat told me
that they are indeed unable.

However, in another post, someone mentioned Eraser
(http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/). The link at download.com for this
program mentions writing zeros and/or zeros and ones over the deleted
space. And this prog is free.

Also, I'm impressed with the shredder in Spybot, which is also free.
You can choose your desired number of passes from 4 up to whatever (I
didn't look for the max).

HTH,
PlainDave

 

[PlainDave]

Was that you knocking on my door?

Why, yes, it was! And you kept saying "Dave's not here, man!"

All, I want to do, is be sure no one can ever pull out files that I chose to
shred.

Here's yet another good, "secure delete" program. Try going to
www.zdelete.com. They have a free version.

Their description: "ZDelete - Cleanup and hard drive eraser utility
permanently deletes selected files, folders, directories, Internet
browser caches, surfing histories, and cookies. DoD 5220.22-M
compliant." (Note: Microsoft .NET framework must be installed.)

Anytime you see "DoD 5220.22-M compliant for standards of cleaning and
sanitizing/sanitation", you know it's going to overwrite the HD space
that the deleted file once took up. PGP says it, and even goes much
further upon your parameters.

Another program you might be interested in is Folder Lock
(www.newsoftwares.net/folderlock). The GUI looks like it's made for
children, but believe me it works great for securing files, folders,
etc. They claim that absolutely no one can break into the password
protected folder(s). You can even hide risque photos of Nancy Kulp,
and no one will be the wiser!

PlainDave

 

[Paul]

Then you better be thinking something other than software. The only way to
be 100% sure nsa and all those goons can't read your data is to smash the
hard drive into very small pieces and scatter the pieces.

Kerry

no app to do that electronically?

 

[Paul]

Why, yes, it was! And you kept saying "Dave's not here, man!"


Here's yet another good, "secure delete" program. Try going to
www.zdelete.com. They have a free version.

Their description: "ZDelete - Cleanup and hard drive eraser utility
permanently deletes selected files, folders, directories, Internet
browser caches, surfing histories, and cookies. DoD 5220.22-M
compliant." (Note: Microsoft .NET framework must be installed.)

Anytime you see "DoD 5220.22-M compliant for standards of cleaning and
sanitizing/sanitation", you know it's going to overwrite the HD space
that the deleted file once took up. PGP says it, and even goes much
further upon your parameters.

Another program you might be interested in is Folder Lock
(www.newsoftwares.net/folderlock). The GUI looks like it's made for
children, but believe me it works great for securing files, folders,
etc. They claim that absolutely no one can break into the password
protected folder(s). You can even hide risque photos of Nancy Kulp,
and no one will be the wiser!

PlainDave

Are you telling me I can keep my secret stuff and just secure it? Like no
way...really???

 

[Plato]

Are you telling me I can keep my secret stuff and just secure it? Like no
way...really???

If your hard drive is physically available, then one can get data off it
no matter if you wrote zeros to it.

 

[Plato]

no app to do that electronically?

NO.

 

[Kerry Brown]

no app to do that electronically?

No. The residual patterns of the data are still there. If the platters are
intact the data can theoretically be retrieved by someone with the right
skills and equipment. If anyone has the skills and equipment may be in doubt
but the possibility is there.

Kerry

 

[PlainDave]

-----snip-----
Are you telling me I can keep my secret stuff and just secure it? Like no
way...really???

Way! Yep. Folder Lock not only locks and password protects files and
folders, but it can encrypt in addition to password protecting. It
uses a very similar encryption algorithm to PGP.

Also, about ZDelete, you can go to www.zdelete.com/dod.htm and read
detailed instructions about the DoD's guidelines for sanitizing (US
Department of Defense 5220.22-M Clearing and Sanitization Matrix). I
went to www.dod.gov and they have numerous docs there about securing
data, erasing data, etc. Pretty incredible.

PlainDave

 

[Paul]

SDelete on F drive:

run time error '52'

bad file name or number.

Reboot and got this again. So, did it finish the drive or stop on error?

Paul

 

[Phil Robyn]

SDelete on F drive:

run time error '52'

bad file name or number.

Reboot and got this again. So, did it finish the drive or stop on error?

Paul

Why don't you ask Mark? (e-mail address removed)

 

[Paul]

Eraser:

File~new task, unused space on D
Edit~preferences~erasing, unused disk space tab
Edit~properties, unused space on D

D listed on screen as Type: unused disk space

select above "D" and click task~run, and Warning message sounds like all D
will be trashed.

??

 

[Paul]

who recommended ZDelete? It costs money!

P

 

[PlainDave]

who recommended ZDelete? It costs money!
P

I did. And there is a FREE VERSION at http://www.zdelete.com. Click on
"Download Free Version" on the left.

Zdelete: Good.
Eraser: Very good.
PGP wipe: Very good.

Other info that might be useful for sharing in this thread:

Files can be totally deleted in the following "relative" aspect: The
space that the deleted file once took on the HD can be overwritten
several times by a good program like the "wipe" utility in PGP (free,
and it wipes a minimum of three times), and the ZDelete program (the
free version only wipes once with zeros, I think). To get a HD totally
clean just like a brand new, "never been used" HD, you have to follow
step by step the DoD guidelines. Check out the www.zdelete.com/dod.htm
website. It's amazing what the DoD guidelines are for completely
wiping a HD so that it's like new (totally blank).

Folder Lock (www.newsoftwares.net/folderlock) is the best for saving
and securing, in my opinion. Like I say, the interface looks like it's
made for children, but believe me it works great for securing files and
folders. Plus, when you click on "Lock", you are given three options:
Lock (fastest), Lock and Scramble, and Lock and Encrypt. This program
is very small, but it does an amazing job and has several options that
you can change. The Folder Lock people refuse to answer my question
regarding continued use after the 35-usage limit. So, as far as I can
tell, we only have to put up with a 5-second "countdown" nag screen.
Also, it will immediately lock upon a power outage.

Also, don't discount the (minimal) power of the Windows defrag utility.
It may not overwrite with zeros, but it overwrites, nonetheless.
After deleting any number of files, run defrag and it can prevent an
"average" user, like a brother, sister, children, etc, from performing
a simple undelete on said file(s). Even an "average" computer geek
most likely won't bother with a halfway sophisticated recovery program.
I remember using the old DOS version of Norton Utilities, and its
defrag gave a user the ability to "view" the contents of any given
sector (or block, I can't remember). But, once it was finished, you
couldn't see the old data that once was there.

PlainDave

 

[Wesley Vogel]

cipher.exe should be on your machine.

Open a command prompt, type cipher /? for help and hit Enter.

Cipher
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/cipher.mspx

or cipher help...
Start | Run | Paste the following line and click OK...

hh ntcmds.chm::/cipher.htm

HOW TO: Use Cipher.exe to Overwrite Deleted Data in Windows Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;814599

How To Use Cipher.exe to Overwrite Deleted Data in Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315672


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In