The problem here is that this is not the case. The file itself remains on the drive, only file pointers are removed.. Experienced users could use file recovery software to get those files back easily. The chance of recovery drops with every writing activity on the hard drive the data is stored on though.

Using software to delete the file traces permanently is therefor essential if you want to give away your hard drive or computer, or if other users have access to it.

DriveScrubber 3 is a software for exactly that task. The program comes with three main modes of operation. It can wipe an entire hard disk, which basically deletes all data on the drive. This can be useful before the drive is sold, send in for repair or if the PC is handed out to someone else temporarily or permanently. It can also be handy if your PC has been infected or damaged by malicious software such as viruses.

Wiping the free space on the other hand deletes file traces on the drive’s free space only. This ensures that file recovery software running on the computer cannot recover deleted data on that drive.

The Desktop File Incinerator finally integrates into Windows Explorer to delete individual files or folders on the system. It basically is an advanced version of the recycle bin that deletes files securely so that they cannot be recovered. The Incinerator feature needs to be enabled in the program option.

Wiping free space of a drive

A click on the start button launches the process. A list of all hard drives is displayed on the screen. The program does not detect solid state drives or warns the user that the process is not effective on those drives. That’s something that the developers need to add to the program. For now, it is only possible to disable SSDs manually. A click on Analyze All displays a pie chart detailing the used space, unused free space and the unsafe deleted files.

Configuration options are displayed on the next screen. DriveScrubber users can run a normal or deep clean on the drive. A deep clean wipes all free space of the drive, a normal clean only locations where data has been stored in.

The advanced options display the wiping parameters. The program uses a DOD compliant technique for overwriting data. This can be changed to a custom pattern instead. The number of overwrite passes are customizable as well.

The default cleaning was very fast. It took only a few minutes to clean the free disk space of a 2 Terabyte drive. A test with the file recovery software Recuva afterwards confirmed that all data traces had been removed successfully by DriveScrubber.

DriveScrubber users can create a self booting CD (or floppy disk, no USB option) to run the program without having to boot into the operating system. That’s useful if you cannot access the OS anymore, or if you want to wipe all data before you hand the PC over to someone else.

Misc

DriveScrubber 3 is compatible with all recent 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft operating systems. It supports all connection methods, including SATA, USB, SCSI and RAID.

Verdict

I was skeptical at first, considering that free software like Eraser offers most of the functionality as well. Especially the performance of the wiping operation and the option to create a bootable disc to wipe drives directly make the program stand out.

The developers need to add SSD detection to the program, and options to create the bootable version on USB devices would be handy as well.

DriveScrubber regardless of that gets the thumbs up for its speed of operation.

Giveaway

We have been given twenty DriveScrubber licenses for this giveaway. Please leave a comment below for a chance to win a license.

The software provides access to various tools that repair so called “problems”, make the computer faster and fix security vulnerabilities. You are asked for example at the first start after installing System Mechanic 8 to perform a scan of your system.

That scan is detecting security vulnerabilities (automatic updates service not running), Registry problems, System Clutter but also unnecessary startup items and an unoptimized Internet speed. The user has the choice to let System Mechanic handle the errors and repair them automatically or view a list of the errors that have been found and correct them on a one on one basis which is definitely recommended.

Users who download and install System Mechanic will spend some time exploring all the menus and tools that are available.

Several of those tools that are provided by the software are available in free versions as well. Say CCleaner for removing system clutter or Regfrag to defragment the Windows Registry.

Raymond discovered a way to grab a free copy of System Mechanic 8 including license code that is good for six months. Here is a quick rundown of the process. I suggest you visit Raymond’s website if you are stuck somewhere because he explains the process in details.

• Visit the System Mechanic Promotional page and click through the process. You have to enter some data like name, email. In the end the serial number will be send to your inbox.
• Grab the latest version of System Mechanic 8 from this download site.
• Install it, use the serial number from the email to activate it.