Deleting files using the Windows File Explorer, command prompt or PowerShell is not necessarily enough to completely destroy the file data. These simple file deletion methods in Windows simply remove its reference from the file table but the data stays on the hard drive. Any person who is willing to use specialized tools like Recuva can easily recover these deleted files.
This is why when we want to delete sensitive files (such as bank statements, tax records etc.), we should use secure file erasing tools. For example, we can use an open-source secure erase tool called Context Shredder. It is able to overwrite the contents of files before deleting them. It deletes the files in such a way that they cannot be recovered later by anyone.
Context Shredder offers many different tools for secure erasing of the files. When launched from its desktop shortcut, it offers an easy way to clean up various garbage files by securely erasing them. In its user interface, we can clean up files stored by various web browsers, recycle bin, Windows File Explorer and so on. We can also choose one of the many overwriting methods.
It comes with a portable tool which has an File Explorer like interface. We can select the files or folders to be erased easily using this user interface and then erase them using Context Shredder. We have to choose a shredding method and it will do the rest. A progress bar is displayed as the selected files are shredded.
To make erasing files easy, it offers am Erase Wizard. In this tool, we can access all the different tools offered by Context Shredder. We can choose a tool and then go step-by-step leading to a successful secure erasing of the selected files. We can erase junk files, launch command line interface, launch the File Explorer interface and so on.
Context Shredder offers so many tools all with a different interface which could make people confused. If you plan to use this tool for shredding files, you should stick to only one of the tools.
You can download Context Shredder from http://orion-tools.bplaced.net/engshredder.html.