Data Shredder

When you erase a hard drive, or delete a file using standard tools, only a reference to its data is removed from the file system. Simply deleting sensitive files, such as user data or licensed software, may not be safe as there are tools capable of restoring deleted files.

Data Shredder overwrites files with meaningless data multiple times before deleting them, which prevents data from being recovered. Data Shredder is especially useful when selling or donating your computers and hard drives.

This option irreversibly erases individual files or entire folders from your hard drive. Once data is shredded, there is no way to recover it.

1. Click the File Shredder tile.
2. Select a file path or tick a file to shred it from the folder, then click OK to confirm your choice. You can select single files by expanding a folder, or select an entire folder.
3. Click Yes, Continue to irreversibly erase the file(s).
4. Click OK to return to the main screen.

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

Note: you can also shred an individual file by right-clicking a file and selecting the Shred using Avast option from the Windows context menu.

This option irreversibly erases an entire drive and all data stored on it. Once data is shredded, there is no way to recover it.

1. Click the Drive Shredder tile.
2. Select the drive you want to shred.
3. Click Yes, Continue to irreversibly erase the drive.
4. Click OK to return to the main screen.

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

Note: you must reformat the partition after the process is complete to make it usable again.

The Deleted Files Shredder option irreversibly erases the remains of previously deleted files. This is useful if you have already used a standard delete method, such as manually deleting the files.

1. Click the Deleted Files Shredder tile.
2. Select a drive from which you want to erase the file remains.
3. Click Yes, continue.
4. Click OK to return to the main screen.

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

Click Settings (gear icon) on the Data Shredder feature screen, or go to ☰ Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Privacy ▸ Data Shredder to adjust the following settings:

• Show Data Shredder in the Windows context menu (enabled by default): enables you to right-click a file or folder in your file explorer or on your desktop and select Shred using Avast from the Windows context menu that appears.
• Which algorithm for shredding you want to use: allows you to choose from Random overwrite (selected by default), Gutmann algorithm, and DOD (Department of Defense) 5250.22-M algorithm. Read more...
• With 1 number of passes (1 pass specified by default): allows you to specify how many passes your preferred algorithm will take on the data you want to shred. To change the number, click the text box and type your preferred number.

Data Shredder may not be able to shred certain files due to insufficient access rights. In such cases, we recommend deleting a file manually, and then using the Deleted Files Shredder.