Secure File Deletion: How You Can Permanently Delete Files

You've deleted a file. So that's it. It's gone forever, isn't it?

Err. No. It's still there.

The problem with computers is that they take short cuts. And one of the short cuts is by ignoring your command to delete a file. It doesn't really get deleted. Occasionally, this is good as it means that if you didn't really want to delete a file, no problem.

But what can you do if you want to completely obliterate all traces of a file? Maybe you're selling your computer and you'd rather the new owner had no chance of finding out all of your passwords and logins. Maybe you had some confidential documents from your company and you want to make sure that no-one else gets access to them. Maybe it's some email correspondence you don't want anyone else to get hold of.

No matter the reason, just hitting the delete button isn't good enough.

Unless you are 100% certain that your computer will only ever be used by you and you alone, you've got to ensure that any files that need to be deleted forever really are deleted permanently.

This means that you're going to need some help from a software program. Unless you repeatedly format your hard drive and hit it with a big hammer until it breaks into so may pieces even the biggest jigsaw addict would give up.

The good news is you can get some cheap software that makes securely deleting files an absolute breeze.

It will overwrite the space occupied by the file you want to delete. Not just a few times (that would still be way too easy to recover) but tens of times. Once it's done it's job, not even the most powerful computers in the world would have the slightest clue about the file's contents.

Which means if you want to be completely certain that your files are permanently deleted, you should download this inexpensive software!