File Shredder: How Long Does It Take?

I'd like to get an idea of how long it would take Bitdefender's File Shredder to shred 1TB of files.

Drive/files are on a server running TrueNAS with WD RED drives.

Looking for an estimate of how long it would take. I don't want to start running it without knowing about how long the process may take.

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Gjoksi

Hello.

Just did a test on my laptop, and here are the results:

1.07 GB of data

364 files (.pdf., .doc., .jpg)

runtime: 5 min 20 sec

Laptop: Asus X551CA

Specs: Intel Core i3-3217U 1.8GHz, Intel HD Graphics 4000, 4GB DDR3, 120GB SATA-III SSD

OS: Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit with the latest updates installed

Regards.

All comments

Gjoksi

Hello.

Just did a test on my laptop, and here are the results:

1.07 GB of data

364 files (.pdf., .doc., .jpg)

runtime: 5 min 20 sec

Laptop: Asus X551CA

Specs: Intel Core i3-3217U 1.8GHz, Intel HD Graphics 4000, 4GB DDR3, 120GB SATA-III SSD

OS: Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit with the latest updates installed

Regards.

Alexandru_BD

Interesting 😎

Xolo

@Gjoksi

Thanks for taking your time to do a test.

Using your test results to interpolate the amount of time from 1.07GB to 1TB of data. I'll assume that your laptop would be similar in speed shredding from it's local drive to my PC shredding to a shared drive.

1TB = 1000GB

1.07/1000 = 5.333/x

x = 4,984.112 minutes

x = 83.06 hours

x = 3.46 days

So to completely wipe 10TB, it would take a bit over a month. I've got (4) 12TB drives with about 10TB of data on them that needs to be shredded. If I only use 1 PC, it'll take 1/4 of a year to wipe.

That's exactly what I needed to know. Thanks again!

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/319623#Comment_319623

Time taken for shredding depends on various things:

1) The processor and RAM of a specific device.

2) The type of shredding algorithm used (the less passes that you will use the less time it will take but chances to recover data may be more, the more passes that you use, the more time it will take but chances to recover data will be less)

Have a look at different shredding algorithms and the passes and the way they work as stated in below stated link

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_erasure#Standards

3) I am currently unable to find exactly which shredding algorithm does bitdefender file shredder uses.

@Alexandru_BD, @Mike_BD can you get some information on this from the developers.

Additionally, if your Windows OS is stored in C: drive (let's suppose), then it is not recommended to use file shredder on below stated C: drive folders :

C:\Program Files

C:\Program Files (x86)

C:\ProgramData

C:\Users

C:\Windows

Any improper shredding of files in these folder may either lead to crashing/ hanging of your windows or non functionality of your software application.

Regards

Xolo

@Flexx

Thank you for the extra information. It seems obvious enough, but good to keep in the back pocket.

I will absolutely want to know what type of algorithm Bitdefender uses, as that'll give me a clearer idea of the length of time it'll take.

I used to use DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) when shredding drives to be repurposed.

It has several different algorithm options available. I typically used DOD Short (3 passes). But you need to have the drive installed on your machine in order to shred it.

As mentioned, I'm shredding files from a server with drives set up in a Zpool on the network. So DBAN won't work.

Gjoksi

Hello again.

Just got a resposne from Andrei R. (Technical Support Engineer):

"We are using a 3-pass method for the File Shredder."

Regards.

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/319737#Comment_319737

@Gjoksi can you confirm the shredding algorithm mate, 3 passes of which shredding algorithm.

Regards

Alexandru_BD

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/319764#Comment_319764

@Alexandru_BD any update on shredding algorithm.

Regards

Alexandru_BD

Hello,

The wiping standard used for File Shredder is compliant with the DoD 5220.22-M standard.

The DoD 5220.22-M data sanitization method, or the DoD 3-pass method, is usually implemented in the following way:

Pass 1: Overwrite all addressable locations with binary zeroes.
Pass 2: Overwrite all addressable locations with binary ones (the compliment of the above).
Pass 3: Overwrite all addressable locations with a random bit pattern
Verify the final overwrite pass.

This is the only information available on the shredding algorithm.

Regards

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/319951#Comment_319951

@Alexandru_BD this is the only information required 😅

Regards

Alexandru_BD

😂😂

mdwpsyd

Also see these sections of a nicely detailed, well-written article on Lifewire:

DoD 5220.22-M data sanitization method

NCSC-TG-025 data sanitization method ("this is the same data sanitization method as DoD 5220.22-M ...")

Which Data Sanitization Method Is Best? ("Overwriting one or more files, or an entire hard drive, just once with a single character, should prevent any software-based file recovery method from recovering data from a hard drive.")

variablenine

@mdwpsyd for lack of a better way of explaining it, binary numbers are rounded and storage drives can have a sort of "burn in" where if you replace everything with 1's, the bits that were once zeroes will still be closer to zero than the original 1's, even if they are still technically all 1's, meaning with specialized tools it would still be recoverable.

This method cleans the slate both ways and then introduces a bunch of noise. It isn't the most thorough method in existence, but the DOD needs something that will shred quickly, efficiently, and thoroughly, and this alg strikes a good balance for all of them.

theres other methods that are more thorough but the tradeoff is time and when files get larger all of those passes add up quickly and arent worth doing on a large scale.

which is best? like most things, it depends on what you need for your use case