Delete deleted files

[shrek100]

Hi all,

I have read that when you delete files from a Computer they are still there somewhere. If this is true can they be completely deleted?

I had read that a program called C cleaner works? Any Ideas

 

[volumes76]

There are a few answers.

1 - If it is something as simple as just deleting a document in Windows, you want to be sure you also empty your trash. That's just deleting 101.

2 - If you are trying to cover your tracks in your browser, always surf in private browsing mode (ctrl-shift-n in chrome, ctrl-shift-p in Firefox, don't know about the others). This means you won't be saving your cookies or history.

3 - If you are saving then deleting files onto your computer that you are really trying to hide, then doing a delete command at the dos level is a good start. Go to the command prompt (start-run-cmd). Let's say you are saving files in c:\temp. Go to the command prompt, cd \temp. Del *.* (or *.mov, etc). This does a better job because it isn't remembered on the Windows side of things. The three above items are for 'don't want my wife/husband to find the files' category, but not comprehensive or bullet-proof by any means if you're talking about Forensic investigation.

4- If you are really concerned, like on a legal level, then a simple delete isn't going to do it. BCWipe or Secure Clean, or Supershredder are good ones, and these go down to the level of deleting the files AND overwriting those same sectors with garbage data.

a possible option here is to get an external drive and always save your 'questionable' files there. At the end of each day, do a full format AND wipe that disk with one of the shredder programs..

However, be aware that your browser still caches files as you download them, you need to target the cache directories as well in any wipes.

5 - If you are giving your computer away and want to be sure nothing is left, or the FBI is descending on your house to seize your computer that has the rough cut of the new Batman movie that you snagged from BitTorrent, then you want to do a DOD (department of defense) level wipe with a program like Disk Wipe, so nothing at all (not even Windows) is left on your PC.

 

[shrek100]

Thanks for the advise.

 

[LaRocha]

I recently had some CPUs recycled or whatever they do with them. I was a little worried that they'd find my Lit stories and think poorly of me in spirit. I read about a guy who mistakenly DLed kiddie porn that he thought was GirlsGoneWild and immediately deleted the file when he discovered that it wasn't, he got tracked by the coppers and arrested when they searched his computer and discovered the deleted file that he couldn't possibly access.

http://mashable.com/2009/12/05/child-porn-download/

 

[fuckmeat]

Is nobody even slightly concerned as to why this guy's so eager to wipe stuff from his hard drive so thoroughly? How do we know he's not trying to dump his cache of kiddie porn?

 

[coastal-boy]

Is nobody even slightly concerned as to why this guy's so eager to wipe stuff from his hard drive so thoroughly? How do we know he's not trying to dump his cache of kiddie porn?

nope...I donate my old computers to the local elementary school and I always wipe any drive in them

 

[ScottSwing]

Is nobody even slightly concerned as to why this guy's so eager to wipe stuff from his hard drive so thoroughly? How do we know he's not trying to dump his cache of kiddie porn?

Paranoid, are we?

 

[shrek100]

Is nobody even slightly concerned as to why this guy's so eager to wipe stuff from his hard drive so thoroughly? How do we know he's not trying to dump his cache of kiddie porn?

Yep cos I would ask on a public forum if if that was the case.

Like most people on here I enjoy porn, some not so straight porn i.e Fetish, Femdom etc. I was going to give my lap top to a family member thats at Uni....... can you imagine if they discover something (I recon it will be funny)

Any I have decided I am going to by him a new lap top as thay are not the expensive!

 

[CNYCarol]

If you really want to give that old PC to your favorite neice or nephew thats going off to college?

The quickest, easiest and safest way is to buy a new harddrive and keep the old one.

Everything you are concerned about is on the harddrive, keep it and your fears will melt, FOREVER!

 

[kaycee217]

...

5 - If you are giving your computer away and want to be sure nothing is left, or the FBI is descending on your house to seize your computer that has the rough cut of the new Batman movie that you snagged from BitTorrent, then you want to do a DOD (department of defense) level wipe with a program like Disk Wipe, so nothing at all (not even Windows) is left on your PC.

I'd go further!

If you really want to give that old PC to your favorite neice or nephew thats going off to college?

The quickest, easiest and safest way is to buy a new harddrive and keep the old one.

Everything you are concerned about is on the harddrive, keep it and your fears will melt, FOREVER!

Interesting choice of words, because the only true hard drive erasing methods I would use are degaussing or melting the actual platters.

 

[LookngForFun]

I thought just reformatting windows (clean install) wipes everything..

 

[kaycee217]

I thought just reformatting windows (clean install) wipes everything..

I think it does so for the average user. But if a government law enforcement or intelligence organization or a data recovery company wants to get data off a hard drive platter, it takes much more work to wipe everything.

 

[rosco rathbone]

If a law enforcement or intelligence agency had a good reason to be interested in my hard-drive, I'd "delete" my files with a gallon of gasoline and a burn basket.

 

[MaxAgain]

If a law enforcement or intelligence agency is after me to that degree I'd be thinking long and hard about how I'm living my life.

 

[airblade]

I think it does so for the average user. But if a government law enforcement or intelligence organization or a data recovery company wants to get data off a hard drive platter, it takes much more work to wipe everything.

Every time you delete a file from windows there's always going to be a trace of the file located in the Index of the DOS partition, as far as I know the only way to delete that is a full reformat.

 

[Ran4]

Well, it all depends on what you mean with "format". If you just do a quick format, very little on the hard drive is erased: essentially, what happens is that you delete the register of where all the files are on the hard drive. Without this register, it's hard to find where the data is, but all the data is still there, and anyone with the right programs could find at least part of it.

A "full format" on the other hand, usually consists of writing over the entire hard drive. This one is fairly safe from everyone except recovery companies. If you are paranoid, re-write the hard drive multiple times: simply reformat five or so times and you can be certain that unless a person wants to spend thousands of dollars to recover any information, your information is safe.

If you can't even afford that, then you really should have had all the data encrypted anyway (truecrypt is great and most importantly: fully open source. http://www.truecrypt.org), and you should consider physically destroying the hard drive. Thus unless you are holding some really important data, you shouldn't need to be this paranoid.

 

[squarejohn]

Is nobody even slightly concerned as to why this guy's so eager to wipe stuff from his hard drive so thoroughly? How do we know he's not trying to dump his cache of kiddie porn?

There may be financial data such as SS number, bank account numbers, etc.

 

[fgarvb1]

Just in case you want to get rid of the drive...


http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=588559&highlight=drive

 

[Kikori]

Paranoid, are we?

Fail troll fails.

 

[tmock]

So, what if he is. At least hes wiping, and hes probably not the only one.