When you delete files or folders in Windows they are either moved to the trashcan of the system or deleted directly. Regardless of the selected action, files remains recoverable on the system for some time. To explain it in simple terms: When you delete a file, the reference is removed by the operating system but not the file contents which still exist on the hard drive. This means that anyone with the right tools can recover those files as long as they have not been overwritten (for instance by new installations or files).
Free File Wiper is one of those tools that make sure that deleted files or folders cannot be recovered anymore. The program overwrites the occupied disk space with random characters so that files and contents cannot be recovered anymore.
The program on start up displays a trashcan icon on the desktop. You can move around the icon freely. Files and folders that you want to delete securely on the system need to be dragged and dropped onto the icon. A prompt is then displayed that warns you that the data won’t be recoverable after the operation. If you proceed, the file contents get deleted and overwritten. You can disable the confirmation window in the program options to delete data automatically without confirmation prompt.
The program supports four different modes. A quick erase mode that overwrites the data once, and three additional modes that use different patterns and overwrite the date multiple times on the hard drive.
The file eraser integrates into the Send To menu of Windows Explorer as well by default. You can use it to send files directly to the program for safe deletion.
Free File Wiper is a handy program for Windows users who want to make sure that data that they delete cannot be recovered. Handy to carry around on a portable drive or tool DVD.
The program runs on 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows XP, Vista and windows 7. It requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0. Downloads are provided at the developer website.
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