How Much Shredding Does The File Shredder Do?

Hello forum,

I have files on my PC with names and addresses of clients that I need to delete after expiry. How good is the file shredder?

I have shredded the files using a free Ashampoo optimiser, which takes ages but claims the files will be totally unrecoverable, even in a pro lab. BD file shredder is much faster, but I don't know if the files will be recoverable.

To what standard are the files shredded?

Thanks,

Lee.

Here is a couple things I found from reviews of Bitdefender File Shredder. The thing I can't tell you is what method they use to destroy the data.

There is a file shredder that completely erases files by writing over them to ensure files are gone and impossible to recover.

Normally deleting files just removes the entry to the file. It will remain intact until another file requires the space. The shredder goes one step further to actually destroy the data in the file before removing it from the file list.

Wasn't able to edit in time, as I was going to say the 2nd sentence was the main insight, as far as the difference compared to file shredding/overwriting software we're more accustomed to. (and not just "deleting")

If you want to confirm if the files were deleted permanently or not you can try to recover data using data recovery software, If the software shows the files then they are recoverable. I personally shred files with the help of Kernel File Shredder which uses combination of different file shredding algorithms to securely erase files from memory.

Hello, rest assured that Bitdefender File Shredder permanently and irrecoverably deletes files/folders.

Please post back if you have other concerns about its functionality.

Thank you.

Hi Georgia,

I think the question remains, to what standard does the BD File Shredder comply? I have a tool called Eraser, which will erase and overwrite files up to 35 times, for the pathologically paranoid! Can you give any further details, such as how many times the BD shredder overwrites?

Thanks.

I'd like to pick this topic back up.  The moderator never answered the question "what standard to the BD File Shredder comply."  It's been a few years, so the moderator might be gone.  My guess is she didn't know the answer as it is more technical than forum moderators to trained to answer.

What I (and possibly earlier posters) want to know: does it comply with NIST SP 800-88r1, which is an U.S.Government guideline for destroying files and other media.  It generally requires a minimum of 3 overwrites with random 1s and 0s for file shredding.

I'd like to know this too because I have Iola System Mechanic (v16.5-latest) installed on my PC and it claims to use that standard for its "File Incinerator."  However, unlike previous versions of their Incinerator, I find that it incinerates a 100mb file in about 3 seconds.  [Frankly, i would expect it to be longer so I'm a bit suspect.]

BitDefender's File Shredder, by contrast, takes significantly more time to complete that process.  So I would like to know what algorithm (in layman's terms) is being used in BD's File Shredder.  How many overwrites, etc.