Good day.
Did you know that putting files in the trash doesn't mean they are completely deleted? And even if you clean it further. Any user experienced in this matter can restore them without difficulty, especially "in hot pursuit". Worried about your privacy? Learn how to permanently delete files from your computer in this article.
Why can files be recovered?
The fact is that after emptying the trash can the documents do not disappear, but are marked by the system as empty. They are completely stored on the hard drive until the space they occupy is needed to store other information. Using some skills and special programs, such files can be restored.
It is noteworthy that even hDD format. This process does not delete the content itself, but only makes a change to its storage area - the file table. This means that the list of documents (name, location, etc.) is deleted, but what they contain remains in place.
Correct removal
To erase everything completely, you can act on hDD apparatus with a magnetic field. But this method is expensive. It is used mainly by military or large organizations when you need to quickly erase data.
We will resort to a more affordable method - removal using special programs... There are many of them, so you can't mention all of them. I will tell you about several, separately for the most popular operating systems.
Windows
You can bypass the recycle bin when deleting files by selecting them and holding the Shift + Del combination. By the way, the same works for the Linux operating system as well. But as you already know, this method will not ensure complete removal. Therefore, I advise you to use by the Ccleaner program... This is a simple utility that reliably cleans the system and hard drives, after which it is easier for them to work. By the way, it can be used for Mac OS X too.
Here is a link to download from the office. site: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download/standard
To permanently delete files using this application, you must set the correct parameters:
- Have you downloaded, installed and opened the app? In the list on the left, enter the very bottom section with settings, after which another list will appear, where again select the item with the same name.
- A window will unfold nearby, in which you should find the "Cleaning mode" field. It has 2 points: normal and irrevocable deletion... Activate the second.
- When you click on it, you will need to select the erasing method: simple overwrite (1 pass), DOD (3 passes), NSA (7) or gutmann (35). The more passes, the slower but more thorough cleaning will be. I usually do DOD (3 passes).
Mac OS X
Besides using Ccleaner, there are several other ways to destroy data. For example, the operating system of apple computers itself includes the following option:
This method is available to owners of OS version 10.3 and higher. Please note that in this way you will delete all the contents of the basket forever: you will not be able to select individual documents.
Linux
In this case, you can also use the means of the operating system itself. First way:
- Open the terminal by holding down the keys Ctrl + Alt + T or "Applications - Standard - double click on the desired item."
- Enter the command shred -u -z -n 15 confidential.txt, for example. It is decrypted as follows: shred - the main command, -u - deleting information after it was overwritten, -z - overwriting only zeros after ones and zeros (as a result, there is no way to know that the files were overwritten), -n - the number of times of overwriting (in our case 15) and then the title of the document.
- Hit Enter.
- Second method:
Bring up the terminal again, but now type in the command apt-get install secure-delete.
- It includes 4 functions: srm (secure remove) assumes complete destruction of the file, smem - its traces from the computer's memory, sfill - removes traces of information on the free space of the HDD, sswap - erasing them from the swap partition.
- Thus, to permanently delete only the file, you must enter, for example, srm confidential.txt.
- Press Enter to confirm the action.
That's all.
Armed with this information, you can be sure that no one will have access to your secret files.
Goodbye friends, come again.
Anyone who is at least a little familiar with computer technology knows perfectly well that deleting a file does not mean that it is really deleted and cannot be restored. And if such files contain personal information and they fall into the hands of intruders, this means a direct threat to your security. Let's get acquainted with several ways to actually delete files forever - from a computer, with mobile devices and from "cloud" storage.
1. Completely clean the hard drive
Before disposal or sale personal computer it makes sense to get rid of all traces of your activities, personal data and other information stored on hard drives. As a rule, everything is limited to the usual formatting, but there are many publicly available means of recovering a significant part of the information "deleted" in this way. To reliably delete data, you need to overwrite the entire disk several times, preferably using special algorithms.
One of the applications that provide reliable erasure of information on the hard drive is the free Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) package, designed for individual users... According to its creators, DBAN takes into account all known methods of forensic analysis of disks, although it does not guarantee one hundred percent data erasure - unlike commercial products.
DBAN is written to a USB drive, a "blank" CD-R or DVD-R (the image size is only 11 MB) and is used as boot disk - in other words, it doesn't matter which operating system was on the erasable hard drive before. Once booted, you can choose from six ways to clean up your disk.
2. We finally delete the "deleted" files
However, it is not always necessary to completely clean up the hard disk, much more often you just need to get rid of individual files. To do this, you can use the free Eraser program, which works with all windows versions starting with XP and ending with the "Seven". As the description says, Eraser uses the classic algorithms of Peter Gutmann, designed to effectively remove the remnants of magnetization on hard drives.
The program works only with disks under Windows and repeatedly overwrites everything remote folders and files with a set of pseudo-random data based on different algorithms. Unused space can also be washed away by a whole row different methods, including the one provided by the Russian GOST.
3. Remove protected or locked files
It is not uncommon to find files that cannot even be deleted normally: instead, an error message appears on the screen, which says that this file it is impossible to delete. This happens for various reasons: the system may block access to the file, running program, there may be restrictions on disk access for a specific user - or the disk is completely write-protected.
To again be able to delete your own files, you can install a free utility called Unlocker for Windows operating systems from "2000" to "Seven" - both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
Unlocker is built into the Windows interface and invoked by right-clicking on a locked file or folder.
4. Delete the passwords saved in the browser
All modern browsers have a password saving feature, which is especially useful if you follow expert recommendations and use long and complex passwords that are different for each site. However, this feature is also a security threat: if an attacker gains access to your computer, he can use all your Internet accounts.
In cases where such a threat is real, or in a situation where a random person can sit behind your car, it makes sense to clear the list of saved passwords.
AT internet browser Explorer you need to go to the "Tools" menu, select "Internet Options" and the "Contents" tab. In the "Autocomplete" item, click the "Options" button, in the window that appears, make sure that there is a check mark in front of the "Display request before saving passwords" item, click the "Delete autocomplete history" button, put a tick in the "Passwords" item and click the " Delete ".
AT chrome browser go to "Settings" and click on the link "Show additional settings»At the bottom of the page. Go to "Passwords and Forms" and click on the "Manage saved passwords" link. Here you can highlight required accounts and passwords and remove them.
AT firefox browser go to the main menu and select the "Settings" item. Go to the "Protection" tab and click the "Saved Passwords" button. A window will appear in which you can select and delete passwords for certain sites.
5. Delete files from external drives
To fully delete files from external storage (for example, a USB disk), you can use the Drive Wiper function of the CCleaner application, which exists in versions for both Windows and Mac OS X (and even has russification).
We select the item "Erasing disks", desired disk and a suitable way to erase data - from a simple one-pass rewrite to the Gutmann algorithm and 35 passes.
6. Delete files from portable devices
To delete photos and videos from the camera's flash card, just connect the camera to a PC and use the Eraser program described in the second paragraph of this article. To reliably delete all files, you just need to format the card using the camera itself.
Deleting files in smartphones and tablets is usually not a problem, and due to the use of flash memory and operating systems optimized for it, such files are virtually impossible to recover, unlike those recorded on hard drives. The only thing worth remembering is the copies of files that were transferred to a computer during synchronization (see above for how to deal with this) or located on cloud services, primarily Picasa and iCloud.
In devices under android you need to go to "Settings", select the item "Accounts and synchronization" and go to the section "Management accounts". Here we disable syncing with Picasa Web Albums, and then delete the pictures both on the device and in the online account.
In gadgets running iOS, go to Settings, iCloud, select Photo Stream and turn off My Photo Stream. Then open the Photos app and delete the pictures from both the device and the "Photo Stream".
7. Delete online mail Gmail
In Gmail, all messages sent to the Trash are automatically deleted after 30 days, but you can empty the Trash yourself at any time. However, since Google does backups user data, they are permanently deleted from the servers, according to company representatives, within 60 days.
8. Delete files from Dropbox
The popular file-sharing service Dropbox saves deleted files for 30 days in case you change your mind and want to return them. However, if you are determined to get rid of specific files, you need to go to the Dropbox website and click on the trash bin labeled "Show deleted". Files and folders with greyed out names are deleted items that Dropbox retains for another 30 days.
Select one of them and click on the "Delete permanently" button at the top of the list - or right-click and select the same item in the menu that appears.
The concept of "memory", as such, is inherent not only to humans: computer technology, for example, is equipped with a storage device (HDD, SSD), the functionality of which is primarily designed to record, store and manage the received data. After a certain time free space the hard disk is getting smaller, and the user is simply forced to erase some of the information. Most likely, not all of you thought about how to remove deleted files... Nevertheless, the actual essence of the issue requires detailed consideration. After all, the "Delete" button used only creates the illusion that the erased information is destroyed, in fact, everything remains in its place ... The presented material will help you answer a number of questions regarding the multifaceted process of deleting various files from hard disk computer.
How does this happen?
The file system only changes the attribute previously assigned to the remote file, and later (actually filled) disk space can be overwritten. We will not go into technical terms and will touch on the first part of the question on how to delete deleted files. To do this, let's use a simple example: you must have paid attention to how quickly a file is overwritten, which, by the way, has a considerable "weight", say, 100 MB. However, the process of copying the same amount of data to the hard disk takes a relatively longer period of time. This is because before getting to the HDD, a name is assigned to the file, and the necessary disk space is reserved, and of the appropriate size. Then the system reads the data from the storage medium and, following a certain algorithm, copies it to your hard drive. It is worth noting that the speed of saving (the process of writing to a hard disk drive) can be radically different in relation to the same action performed on other hard drives... The reason for this is, first of all, the type of drive, poor readability of the drive (disk drive), wear and tear, and other factors equally influencing the process. But the second part of the question is solved, paradoxically, by the same recording method, albeit in a slightly different hypostasis.
As files: specific solution
That is why efficiency work hard disk is so high - the system does not waste time on the complete destruction of the erased information. All that Windows does is put the “sign” of the deleted in the file attribute, that is, it makes the disk space free for subsequent recording. However, seeing the unreliability of such a method of "disposal", it is worth remembering that if you overwrite personal information in a standard way, it can always be used by intruders or ill-wishers, simply recovering unreliable "buried" data from your hard drive. However, we are running ahead a bit ... So, in order to permanently delete the information, it is necessary to rewrite the very area of \u200b\u200bthe disk several times in which the unwanted file is located. And not just filling clusters with new data or resetting hDD sectors, but by confusing the path of finding (definition markers) of the "rejected" zeros and ones, resorting to complex renaming algorithms.
From theory to practice
With the solution of the question, the files "can help you unless specially created for such operations shredding programs (the English word is translated as shred, shred, in general, destroy). But the variety and specification of the use of these utilities are not always" friendly "in understanding, and some of them are not very practical to use, therefore, given the fact that you are not a secret agent after all, it is prudent to use one of the two methods presented below.
Option # 1: insanely reliable
In the case when you sell your old hard drive to someone else or you just decide to say goodbye to an outdated drive forever, wiser and easier way to protect yourself from unwanted information leakage simply cannot be found.
- Download the Darik's Boot and Nuke utility from the official site.
- The boot image can be burned to a flash drive, CD or DVD.
- Of course, the program runs under DOS.
- You will be presented with six cleaning methods. It is advisable to use the third from the list: DoD Short.
Option number 2: file shredder
"How to remove unnecessary files irrevocably, without resorting to a total method of "large-scale cleanup"? "- you may ask. In order to erase all signs of the existence of" unwanted data ", install free program "Eraser", then follow the instructions:
- Use the “Erase Schedule” tab.
- Click on the "triangle" icon, in the drop-down menu select "New task" (new task). Or just press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + N.
- Now specify the directory where the Eliminator is located. It is quite easy to do this: activate the "Add Data" button.
- Now use "Browse ..." opposite the "File" checkbox. And select the file to delete.
- In the initial window of the program, right-click on the directory you specified.
- Now, using the "Run Now" command, you will overwrite the data "without the right" to recover.
Knowing how to permanently delete a file is certainly helpful. However, the user desperately needs to know about other ways to free up free space on the drive being used. Let's start.
Basic removal methods
Built-in tools cleaning windows allow us with some comfort to carry out operations to "utilize" data that have become uninteresting for us, and to some extent just distracting material. Recycle Bin is an essential element of almost any OS, be it Win or Mac OS. How to delete a file is no longer a question if there is an icon on the monitor screen that resembles a tank, reservoir or other container for garbage. Nevertheless, sometimes the user has a desire to delete some files, but, oddly enough, does not have the ability, since not everything can be subjected to the destruction process, and the “caring system” prevents us from doing this, especially when it comes to OS components.
Does the SyS extension limit us in some way?
In the struggle for free space, the user can afford to disable some OS services and even remove non-critical system components. Nevertheless, before you do anything, you need to understand the possible consequences of your, sometimes rash actions. The question "how to delete the SyS file" is solved in different ways. However, not everyone knows that by sending a system component to the trash, the user can deprive himself of the pleasure of listening to music, watching videos, and enjoying the full work of his own OS. After all, the drivers also have the SyS extension. Another question is when we want to “trim the privilege” of Windows in order to prevent the system from using disk space at its discretion:
- Paging file (pagefile).
- Hibernation mode (hiberfil).
- System configuration (config).
For example, when deleting, you should understand that you will have to rely only on RAM. And if your RAM cannot cope with the current tasks, you will simply "freeze". If you turn off data backup for sleep mode, you will not be able to use the hibernation function. In general, first of all, you can harm yourself. And yet, how to delete unnecessary files (if you are really sure about it) in order to save space on the HDD?
When RAM is abundant
If your RAM is up to the task, you can delete the pagefile.sys file:
- We go to the "Control Panel".
- We find the icon "System".
- On the left side of the interface, click on the "Additional parameters" item.
- In the window that opens, in the "Performance" section, click the "Options" button.
- Then we activate the "Advanced" tab.
- Now we press "Change".
- In the upper part of the window, select the system disk.
- Then we put a marker on the item "Without swap file", opposite this item, click on the button "Set".
- Completion: "OK".
After a restart, pagefile.sys will be removed.
The file that is open
You may have encountered a problem when you could not delete a picture, video or text. All this is because the OS blocks operations with open files. You may have watched the video and forgot to close the player or text editor that you were using “destroy pretender”. In case the question is "how to delete open file"torments you and does not lend itself to logical resolution, you must complete the corresponding process. The task manager is a great helper in this. However, you can resort to an elementary reboot and log into the system through safe mode... This is achieved in an elementary way as a result of short pressing of the "F8" key. Using this option login, there is a high probability that the file can be eliminated without much difficulty, so to speak regular means OS. However, sometimes even these advice turns out to be incompetent. But there is always a way out of a difficult situation! We read on.
Unlocker program
With the help of this software, you will not only get a practical answer to the question of how to delete an open file, but also be able to solve a lot of other difficulties when it is not possible to get rid of the “finicky guest” of your system by any of the methods known to you. It should be noted that the program is free, easy to use and absolutely "weightless", that is, it takes up only a few MB of disk space. But nevertheless, the performance and efficiency of its functionality will significantly save your time and nerves. By integrating into the explorer, Unlocker will be available in any scenario. By the way, this program will perfectly cope with the solution of your question "how to delete protected files". However, more on this in the next chapter.
System owner: declare our rights
It may happen that by downloading or "dropping" a file on your PC, you will not be able to delete it later. This is only because you will not have the rights to perform such an operation. Of course, the programs do not always effectively solve the complications that have arisen in a given situation, nevertheless, there is still a reliable way. So, how to delete a pdf file or other data format that the system perceives as protected. Elementary: become the owner of the information and manually “rewrite” all rights to yourself.
- Call the submenu with the right button on the selected file.
- We select "Properties".
- Then go to the "Security" tab.
- Further "Additional".
- Now the 3rd tab on the left, click on the right "Owner", where you need to click on the "Change" button.
- Now we point to our administrator rights and become the full owner of the “pseudo-protected” file.
Practical user
Maybe for some users this information will become not just a guide to solving a previously impossible task, but a kind of revelation of opening opportunities. Typically, many standard windows tools: media player, browser, various editors or other integrated applications - rarely used. Many of us install more convenient and much more efficient software solutions on our PCs. Naturally, there is a desire to get rid of the "imperfect" software from Microsoft. But not everyone knows how to delete Windows files, because the OS initially prevents the destruction of “its property”. But this "shortsightedness" of Windows developers can be corrected. To do this, we will resort to the already known method - we will become the owners of the system files. However, we will slightly expand the resolving power of our influence on the operation of the OS.
- We repeat all actions of the previous paragraph.
- After a notification pops up that you have become the owner of the file, click "Properties".
- Then: "Security".
- The next click on the "Change" button will open a window in which you need to put markers opposite the corresponding items.
- Now nothing limits you. The system file can be deleted.
Of course, don't get carried away, as you can “demolish” critical components of your OS. Be prudent and extremely careful in your choice. By the way, the next chapter will help you in solving the rather common question "how to delete a video file that does not want to release the busy disk space, and on top of that, no software can open it. "
Almighty Windows
The problem of unreadability of this or that data format can be solved without sometimes difficult searches and installation of special software. In this case, it is worth paying attention to the standard function of the operating system of the Microsoft family — checking the HDD for errors. Often users have a question "how to delete a damaged file", the answer to which, by the way, is simple, but still needs special explanation. The fact is that the system cannot delete what it cannot read, and this is a fact! You need to scan the disk (partition) containing the unreadable file, and you can do this in the following way:
- "My computer".
- Click on the disk containing the damaged file with the right mouse button.
- Now "Properties".
- Then "Service".
- And in conclusion - "Perform check".
It should be noted that in rare cases the system refuses to execute this action through the above service. The option of console launching of the utility is possible:
- Start menu.
- Run - "cmd"
- Then in command line prescribe: chkdsk with: / f
Where (c :) is a disk partition, and (/ f) is an error correction parameter.
Attention: if you are checking the system partition of the disk, a message may appear stating that the check will be performed the next time the OS boots. Nevertheless, you should agree to this offer and enter the letter "Y", which will be a confirmation of your actions. 
Another important point in the decision is when “wounded information” is not deleted. You can try to change the name of the file, that is, rename it. Also, it will not be superfluous to try to change the extension to the "forced uninstall" object. For example: change avi to txt.
Warning: the system is in danger!
Now you know how to remove system files and that protection can be circumvented. Nevertheless, you should always remember that by cutting Windows yourself, you will not be able to foresee, let alone prevent erroneous changes in the OS. Possessing superficial knowledge and not understanding the severity of the consequences, thoughtlessly making amendments and destroying executable files, dll libraries or disabling critical operating system services, the user jeopardizes the functionality and full performance of the software part of the OS. Therefore, always remember the good old saying: measure seven times - one ...
Finally
Within the framework of this article, the basic techniques for deleting files were considered. Nevertheless, sometimes it is not worth resorting to complex options for the implementation of the process of destruction of certain data ... Basically, the Unlocker program copes with a variety of "misunderstandings" quite competently. And yet, no one is immune from the penetration of the virus into windows environment, and it is precisely the “malicious code” that can be the cause of the file that cannot be deleted. However, this is a topic for another article. May insoluble problems be removed from you!
