You can even add your own custom methods.īe aware that if you select the Gutmann method in Eraser (or in any of the other tools listed below), the secure deletion process may take a long time.Īdd files to Eraser to delete them immediately using the On Demand interface. Go to Edit > Preferences > Erasing and select the method on the Files tab. It overwrites the data several times using one of six methods, including the US DoD 5220.22-M standard with three passes or seven passes and the Gutmann method with 35 passes. EraserĮraser is a free tool that allows you to completely and securely delete sensitive data from your hard drive. Some of these tools also allow you to securely wipe the free space on your hard drive, making any files and folders you erased without using a secure method unrecoverable. Portable secure erase tools are useful if you often use public computers. Several of these tools are portable and can be stored on a USB flash drive. Today we’ll cover seven other free tools for Windows that help you securely erase data from your hard drive so it can’t be recovered. We’ve previously covered how to use CCleaner to delete files securely.

It gets worse even after a file is overwritten while saving more files to your hard drive, it might still be recoverable if enough fragments of the file exist and the person making a recovery has the right technical know-how and tools.

Secure delete