Shredders are not a recent invention. They were used for over a century to destroy confidential paper documents and turn the paper into confetti. They helped individuals, businesses, Governments and even criminals to make it impossible for unwanted people to read or extract confidential information.
In this age of digitalization and technological advancement, confidential information is more likely to be stored on hard drives rather than papers. As such, modern digital shredders are increasingly used to completely wipe out information and make the data unreadable.
Why Do You Need a File Shredder in the First Place?
In Windows and most other operating systems, when you delete a file from the Recycle Bin, it is not permanently gone. Your file can still be recovered using specialized data recovery tools. When a user gives the delete command, your operating system only deletes the references pointing to that file. The actual file continues to exist on your device until some other file overwrites it. There is no exact way to know when that may happen. Thus, your confidential document may still be accessible to your computer’s new owner, unauthorized individuals or anyone with moderate technical proficiency.
How Does a File Shredder Work?
A file shredder overwrites the contents of your deleted files with zeroes and ones. Therefore, if someone gains access to your hard disk and attempts to recover a deleted file, no real information can be found in that file. This makes the original information in your file completely unrecoverable even with modern data recovery tools.
Need for Data Shredding
- Your digital files with personal data can be abused by identity thieves. Cyber criminals may use your name, contact details, passport scan copies to register for credit cards, online services, and commit various kinds of monetary fraud.
- Many businesses have legal obligations to deal with a past customer’s private data collected during the purchase, medical claims, KYC, and other occasions. Businesses may use data shredding applications to completely wipe out past customer information to comply with data privacy laws & regulations.
- Data breaches are not uncommon. Shredding private information that may not be required in the future helps businesses prevent leaking of private data and permanent damage to the company’s reputation.
Popular File Shredders for Windows 11
WipeFile
WipeFile is a portable freeware tool. It supports various file shredding methods- NATO Standard, MS Cipher, Write Zero, among others. The application can also print a log of operations. You can also use it from the context menu in Windows Explorer.
Freeraser
Freeraser creates a Trash icon on the Desktop where you may drag and drop your files to completely wipe out their traces. It supports Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista and XP. When you run this tool for the first time, it gives you an option to either install it on your computer or run it as a portable application. It supports various shredding methods- Gutmann, DoD, Random Data, among others.
Secure Eraser
Secure Eraser completely wipes out unwanted files and folders. You may drag and drop unwanted files and folders into the application window to completely erase their traces.
Secure Eraser supports various methods such as DoD, Gutmann, VSITR and Random Data. You’ll also be presented with an option to turn off your computer, restart your computer after completion of the task.
Secure Eraser offers to install another program Registry Cleaner during the installation. Be sure to uncheck it to avoid unwanted installation.
Secure Eraser offers amazing backward compatibility with Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, Windows Server 2019 and 2003.
BitKiller
BitKiller is another simple freeware application for Windows 11 & 10 that lets you add files and folders in the queue to permanently wipe them out. It supports drag and drop and various shredding methods- Gutmann, DoD, Write Zero and Random Data.
There are two major problems with BitKiller. First, it doesn’t offer much additional customizations to the users. There is no way for the user to configure the program the way they like. Second, the program does not allow canceling the file shredding operation once it has been launched. If the shredding takes more time than you expected, there is no way to stop the task.
PC Shredder
PC Shredder is a portable application that supports Random Data, Gutmann, DoD methods. It occupies only 300 Kb of your storage space. Although it officially supports only Windows XP and Vista, it also runs on Windows 7, 8 and 10.
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Vikas is a technology enthusiast who loves writing articles on computers and technology. He writes on various topics related to software, software reviews, troubleshooting and tips & tricks to make people's digital lives better.