Recommend file shredder?

[rjbull]

I've just been made redundant - less than seven weeks after my mother died.

Next week I'll need to remove all my own software from the work computer.  It'll break my heart to delete a large collection of good software that's served me well, but if I'm going to do it, better do it thoroughly.

Please can anyone recommend a good file shredder?  I've heard of a few but would like to know DC members' experiences.

I'd really like one that works as a plug-in for Total Commander.  I looked in the TC forums, and found a few references, but apparently Christian isn't interested in shredding, so it's down to add-ons.

TIA...

[tomos]

I cant help you with the shredder, but I just wanted to say I'm really sorry to hear that news.
might sound kind of lame to say it - but good luck with everything . .

[steeladept]

Sorry to hear about that.  When it rains, it pours.  I know that first hand myself.

To answer your question, my suggestion (if it is allowed where you work - I know where I work this is actually a preferred method) is to move all pertinent data to a network drive (you do want to leave on good terms and without legal recourse after all), use something like Dr. DOS to overwrite the entire harddrive with 00 (or whatever pattern you would like), then have the machine reimaged to the corporate standard.  Now I understand there is a lot of assumptions there - you are allowed, there is a standard image, and they are willing to reimage the machine, just to name a few.  If that is not an option and you must use a file shredder, I found Eraser to work well enough for my needs.  It may leave behind evidence as it isn't an uninstaller, but anything it erases is definitely unrecoverable.  I do believe CC Cleaner also has a file erase function, though don't hold me to it.  That is the extent of the help I can provide.  Hope that helps.

[mouser]

rj,

our thoughts are with you.  hang in there buddy, and remember what they say. what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
i second the suggestion about "Eraser" -- it's a good tool.

[patthecat]

Sorry to hear about your situation...

As far as file shredders here are 2 I use:
A version of Eraser is also repackaged as a portable app at
Eraser Portable.

Also look at BFACS - Blowfish Advanced CS.  Even though it's a file encryptor, it has the capabilities to wipe files and clear empty space.  You can use either the installer or standalone zip version.

[f0dder]

File shredding is relatively useless, imho. It's bothersome to individually erase each file, and because of fragmentation you could miss some data. A disk wipe/shred, if allowed, is better. Or start by deleting all your files, defragment the drive, and use SysInternals' SDelete to wipe free space - the combination of defrag data-shuffling and free-space wiping should be a decent enough mix. Also, don't bother with anything but a standard single-pass wipe, anything more is just voodoo today.

Sorry to hear that you've been laid off, btw

[rjbull]

Thanks for your good wishes, folks...  that's really in the spirit of DC!

I didn't really expect or need to destroy things to a standard that would leave GCHQ or the CIA bamboozled, just to stop cleverclogs with Recuva or something freeloading on my registration fees.  I uninstalled everything I had paid for with my own money, either using Total Uninstall (where I had remembered to use it to install in the first place), or the progam's own uninstall, and shredding the directories and files that contained registration keys with Eraser.  I found a portable version of Eraser on the Eraser site itself without going to PortableApps.  I left everything that was free anyway, or bought by the company, and left all the matching data files.  Then I went home, intending to do something like f0dder's second method on my last day.  Unfortunately I did an uninstall too far, as XP wouldn't boot, complaining that "hal.dll" was missing.  So that was that.  So much for mindlessly saying Yes to all uninstall prompts...  The IT guy had already told me that if they re-used "my" PC he would have re-imaged it anyway, so I probably did enough (one way or another).  Not that he's likely to any time soon, as the company has laid off so many people he's already got enough surplus Dell boxes to build a garden wall.  I told him about the failure to boot, "don't you just love Windows."  He, who spends his time supporting Windows and Unix systems, told me he doesn't use Windows at home, but an Apple Mac!  Paraphrasing: "It just works, and you don't get viruses."   

Thanks again...

[f0dder]

He, who spends his time supporting Windows and Unix systems, told me he doesn't use Windows at home, but an Apple Mac!  Paraphrasing: "It just works, and you don't get viruses."   

-rjbull (August 30, 2009, 12:38 PM)

Only because the marketshare makes it non-worthwhile... there's plenty of interesting security holes in OS X allowing for privilege escalation etc

Btw, HAL.DLL missing? Let me guess, either running XP with administrative privileges, or Vista/Win7 with UAC turned off? Bad bad (if not one of those, then you've had some form of filesystem corruption - that hasn't happened to me in ages without flaky hardware).

[rjbull]

there's plenty of interesting security holes in OS X allowing for privilege escalation etc

-f0dder (August 30, 2009, 12:48 PM)

I thought current Mac OS was based on Free BSD, and that that was fairly good for security.  Not so?

Btw, HAL.DLL missing? Let me guess, either running XP with administrative privileges,

erm, probably - I was one of the few people that were allowed to install anything, so had at least some level of admin privileges.  I don't know much about that level of operation, and rather assumed I didn't have full power...

[f0dder]

there's plenty of interesting security holes in OS X allowing for privilege escalation etc

-f0dder (August 30, 2009, 12:48 PM)

I thought current Mac OS was based on Free BSD, and that that was fairly good for security.  Not so?

-rjbull (August 30, 2009, 01:06 PM)

OS X is based on different bits of pieces, including some FreeBSD code (but it's certainly not "based on FreeBSD" in the sense of being a *bsd kernel + extra userland stuff). Mac users are smug and want you to believe their system is secure, while in reality it probably has bigger problems than Windows... especially since Vista introduced various hardening efforts. They just recently fixed a kernel bug allowing arbitrary memory overwriting - things like that are dangerous, since they allow you to do basically anything, including local privilege escalation.

It's not like linux is all that hot either - bug in all kernel versions since 2001 not fixed until Aug13 this year.

Remember that just because you haven't heard about an exploit in the wild doesn't mean it's not been discovered and is being abused. With small(er) marketshare OSes, it's far more valuable to keep 0day flaws to yourself and target special victims for blackmailing, espionage, whatever than it is to try and do botnet harvesting.

Btw, HAL.DLL missing? Let me guess, either running XP with administrative privileges,

erm, probably - I was one of the few people that were allowed to install anything, so had at least some level of admin privileges.  I don't know much about that level of operation, and rather assumed I didn't have full power...

-rjbull (August 30, 2009, 01:06 PM)

Well, the techie shouldn't be making smug remarks about OS stability if users are allowed to run with admin privileges - that's equivalent to giving somebody a root account and claiming that *u*x is insecure after he does "rm -fr /"

[Darwin]

I'm very late to this thread (didn't really get near a computer/DC all summer), but just wanted to give rjbull my condolences on the loss of his mother and his job. Went through redundancy myself 18 months ago and can sympathize.

[rjbull]

Remember that just because you haven't heard about an exploit in the wild doesn't mean it's not been discovered and is being abused. With small(er) marketshare OSes, it's far more valuable to keep 0day flaws to yourself and target special victims for blackmailing, espionage, whatever than it is to try and do botnet harvesting.

-f0dder (August 30, 2009, 01:42 PM)

Whoa, f0dder!  You're asking for a visit from some very heavy people intent on keeping you quiet!  But it's nice to hear that Windows isn't quite as bad as I thought in comparison with the opposition...

Well, the techie shouldn't be making smug remarks about OS stability if users are allowed to run with admin privileges

I more or less forced his hand.  Haven't had any problems before, everything ran stably for years, only this "uninstall too far" and that's water under the bridge now.  Still, a learning experience, and when (if ever) I get my Vista laptop up and running, I'll have to make sure I run as a user by default, not an admin.  So thanks for that advice.

[rjbull]

I'm very late to this thread (didn't really get near a computer/DC all summer), but just wanted to give rjbull my condolences on the loss of his mother and his job. Went through redundancy myself 18 months ago and can sympathize.

-Darwin (August 31, 2009, 10:37 AM)

Darwin, thanks for your kind thoughts, and welcome back to DC.

As someone pointed out to me, work is a large part of the structure of your life - you get up at a certain time, visit certain places on certain days, see the same people and so on.  I feel a need for a break, but I'll have to find a new structure before too long.