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Editor Rating 4.0

Version: 1.61	Size: 81 KB
License [?]: Freeware	Price: Not available
Last Updated: Nov 12, 2015	Category: Encryption, Decryption and File Wiping Software
Developer: Microsoft
Operating System: Windows XP Windows Server 2003 Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 Windows 8 Windows Server 2012 Windows 10
Additional Requirements: None
Limitations Not available

SDelete is a tiny utility tool that can permanently wipe a single file, directory or multiple objects using wild cards.

When you delete a file in Windows and empty the Recycle Bin, the data is not removed from the disk. The file is simply marked as deleted in the master file table (MFT) where information about the file on an NTFS volume is stored. Therefore, the deleted file is vulnerable. The file can still be recovered using a data recovery program.

The only way to ensure that a deleted file cannot be recovered is to securely overwrite all its data. This is when SDelete comes in handy here.

SDelete also wipes compressed, encrypted and sparse files. It uses the data sanitization standard, DOD 5220.22-M to overwrite all characters of a file with a series of random new values.

SDelete is a portable command-line utility designed to run on Windows without installation.

How to use SDelete:

1. Download sdelete.zip and extract the file.
2. Open a command prompt window (Click Start button and type cmd in the search or run box)
3. Move to the folder where you extracted SDelete
4. Type sdelete at the command prompt to display a list of its option:
   
   sdelete [-p passes] [-s] [-q]
   
   sdelete [-p passes] [-z|-c] [drive letter]
   
   -c - Zero free space (good for virtual disk optimization)
   
   -p passes - Specifies the number of overwrite passes (default is 1)
   
   -q - Don't print errors (Quiet)
   
   -s - Recurse subdirectories
   
   -z - Cleans free space
   
   The -z option is quite similar to -c option except -z uses a random string of values to more securely wipe free disk space.
   
   
5. Usage examples:
   
   1. To delete a file with 10 overwrite passes, type the following at the command prompt:
   
   sdelete -p 10 my_private_file.txt
   
   2. To clean free space on your C drive with 10 overwrite passes, type the following at the command prompt:
   
   sdelete -p 5 -z C:
   
   3. To delete a directory and its sub-directories, type the following at the command prompt:
   
   sdelete -p 5 -s C:\Users\MyUser\AppData\Local\Temp