secure deletion

Windows can fail in ways that feel catastrophic, but a full reinstall is often a faster decision than it needs to be. The four built-in recovery tools most people should try first are System Restore, Startup Repair, System File Checker (SFC), and Reset this PC. The first three can often reverse...

I opened the Recycle Bin, hit Empty, and felt a familiar little relief—until a recovery app showed me files I had deleted months earlier, untouched and perfectly recoverable. Background / Overview The everyday mental model most Windows users have is simple: delete a file, empty the Recycle Bin...

Windows Sysinternals is a suite of advanced utilities developed by Microsoft to assist users in managing, diagnosing, and troubleshooting Windows systems. While these tools are often associated with IT professionals and developers, many of them offer functionalities that can significantly...

When it comes to managing sensitive files, the simple act of hitting "Delete" can often feel akin to tossing a secret note into a fire – freeing and final. However, in the realm of Windows 11, this act may not be as trustworthy as it seems. Deleted files can lurk like ghosts in the digital...

Hello: Kinda related to a previous thread, but not the same question so..... Awhile back, I backed up my iPhone 5S to a computer. I have sensitive data on in (on the strong end, my clients personal financial data/SSN/cc numbers). I need/want to securely remove all of my phones backup data from...

Hello! I just noticed I have $UPGRADE.~OS and $WINDOWS.~BT in the root of my C: drive. The former "size on disk" is 264 MB and the latter is 3.3 GB. The latter has tens of thousands of files and thousands of folders. I ran Disk Cleanup on the drive. It removed a lot of files, but these two...

I secure deleted some files - nothing very sensitive - but pointers remained to the files - i.e.: f:\\\5545.jpg - etc. Everything on my C:\ drive had hidden links that simply would not delete. Turned off the Firewall - AntiVirus - cleaned the MFT - everything and it would not go away. Then I...

Win 7 home, i5, 1T, MSE, MBAM, secunia, router After removing Norton's Security Suite 2010 I found a folder in C:/users/public/public downloads. It contains a string of digits which I have in the attachment. There are two of them one ends in v4 and the other in v5. When you open either you...

Just a question about the the Backup and Restore feature in Windows 7. In the Manage Space window, you have a option to free up space by deleting data files, is this safe to do?