Data Shredder

Access this tool at: Menu ▸ Tools ▸ Data Shredder

When you delete files, the data itself remains on the disk and can be restored with recovery tools. The Data Shredder allows you to erase files in a more secure way.

This is useful if you want to sell or give away your computer but you want to be sure that sensitive data cannot be recovered later.

Shredding Files

This deletes existing files thoroughly and securely.

Select Shred files from the drop-down menu in the top right corner.
In the center of the screen, click Browse and use the check boxes to select files to shred from the directory. You can select single files by expanding a folder, or select an entire folder.
In the top right corner click Shred and then confirm with Yes.
When the operation is complete a confirmation message appears. Click OK.

The speed of the shredding process depends on the amount of space to shred and the shredding method selected in settings.

Shredding a Whole Partition

This option irreversibly destroys all data currently and previously stored on a partition.

Select Shred whole partition from the drop-down menu in the top right corner.
In the center of the screen, select the partition from the drop-down menu.
Click Shred in the top right corner and then confirm with Yes.
When the operation is complete a confirmation message appears. Click OK.

Note that you need to reformat the partition after the process is complete to make it usable again.

Cleaning Free Disk Space

This process makes data from previously deleted files unrecoverable.

Select Clean free space on a disk from the drop-down menu in the top right corner.
In the center of the screen, select the disk from the drop-down menu.
Click Clean in the top right corner and then confirm with Yes.
When the operation is complete a confirmation message appears. Click OK.

Customizing the Shredding Method

You can select the shredding method for any of the above operations in:

Settings ▸ Tools ▸ Data Shredder ▸ Customize