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What does File Wiper do?
The File Wiper module deletes files and folders permanently so that they cannot be recovered with undelete programs or even by data recovery labs with advanced tools and instruments. It does this by overwriting all the data the files contain. You can choose different methods for wiping the files, depending on the level of security you need. In the screenshot below you see the main dialog of the File Wiper.
Why should I wipe files at all? If you have any important, valuable, secret, personal or sensitive data on computers that can be accessed by others you should consider deleting it with File Wiper instead of the ordinary Windows® delete functions. When you delete files or folders in Windows® no data is really deleted from your hard disk or other media. Windows® simply makes one small change to the file’s entry in the directory table. The file is then no longer listed in the Windows® Explorer and its data can be overwritten by other files, but until this happens both the file name and its data are still there on your hard disk.
Danger scenarios Suppose you sell your computer or your hard disk. Suppose your computer has to be sent out to a workshop for repair. If it contains sensitive data you will generally make backups and delete the sensitive files to make sure they can’t be accessed. But if the files haven’t been wiped thoroughly the data can be recovered — and there are plenty of people willing to make the effort necessary to access it. For example competitors interested in your company’s new technology!
Undelete programs The way Windows® doesn’t delete files makes it very easy for undelete programs to recover deleted files. As long as the data hasn’t been overwritten by new files these programs can always restore the data. All they need to do is change the deleted files’ entries the directory table back to the original setting. This means that anyone with an undelete program and access to your computer can normally access your deleted files.
Undelete programs can’t restore data that has been overwritten. If the space on the hard disk occupied by the original file has been overwritten by a new file the undelete program will simply say that the file cannot be undeleted.
Data recovery labs However, there are specialized data recovery labs that can recover data that has been overwritten. This is possible because of the nature of the magnetic storage coatings used on hard disks and other data media. Even after data has been overwritten by new data, very sensitive instruments can still read the “traces” of the original data that was there before. It’s a little like erasing something you wrote with a pencil — if you don’t really rub hard with the eraser for a long time you can still see a trace of the original words on the paper.
The services of these data recovery labs are very expensive, but it’s worth the money for industrial spies.
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