Data erasure tool

Secure Eraser is a software suite that serves not only as a registry cleaner but also as a data destruction tool. After selecting the drive or partition that should be wiped, just click Start deletion to choose one of the above methods. After Secure Eraser has done its job, you can set it to reboot the computer, exit, or shutdown the computer.

Because Secure Eraser runs from within Windows, you can't use it to erase the hard drive that it's installed to like the C drive. Secure Eraser attempts to install another program during setup that you must deselect if you don't want it. Right-click context menu integration is permitted as well as some unique wiping methods you won't find in many of the other programs listed here.

To use PrivaZer to wipe away a whole drive, choose Delete without a trace from the main menu, select Sensitive directories , and choose a hard drive. Because PrivaZer can do many other privacy cleaning tasks like deleting old files and erasing internet activity traces, it can be a confusing process to use just the data wipe feature.

A portable version is also available from the download page. PC Shredder is a small, portable data wipe tool that runs like any other software in Windows. We like that PC Shredder is portable and has a simple interface. This program is primarily used as a disk management program, so finding the data wipe feature among all the other settings can be a little daunting. Remo Drive Wipe is a nice looking data destruction program that runs inside Windows. You can wipe an entire disk with one of three different sanitization methods.

Remo Drive Wipe is a pretty simple program. It walks you through a type of wizard where you select the drive to wipe and then choose a deletion method. We tested it in Windows 8 without any issues. While CCleaner is normally used as a system cleaner to remove temporary Windows files and other internet or cache files, it also contains a tool that can wipe free disk space or completely destroy all the data on a drive.

CCleaner works from within the operating system, so it can't wipe the data off the same drive that Windows is installed to. However, it can wipe the free space of that drive. You can choose more than one drive at once for CCleaner to wipe them all consecutively. It supports both SSDs and mechanical drives. Once CCleaner is opened, go to the Tools section and then select Drive Wiper to access this data wiping feature. Be sure to choose Entire Drive from the dropdown menu. The latest version of CCleaner can be installed on Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7, as well as Windows Server and File Shredder is a data destruction tool that can erase a disk full of files by simply adding the drive's contents to the program.

It recognizes both traditional and solid state drives. File Shredder isn't as easy to use as some of these programs because you can't drag the drive itself into the program. Instead, you have to drag and drop all the files and folders you want to delete.

However, you can grab the contents from the root of the drive and drop them into File Shredder. Hard Drive Eraser is a portable program that can wipe all the data off of a secondary hard drive. The program is very easy to use. Just choose the drive, select one of the methods from above, and choose the file system that the drive should end up being.

Super File Shredder is easy to use data destruction program that supports drag and drop to quickly delete entire hard drives, both SSDs and traditional hard drives. Just start by choosing a sanitization method from the settings, and then add the entire hard drive to the queue or drag and drop it from Windows Explorer. Like many of these data destruction programs later in this list, Super File Shredder can only wipe drives other than the one you're using. TweakNow SecureDelete has a nice, clean interface with simple buttons.

Like many similar programs from this list, TweakNow SecureDelete lets you drag and drop files and folders directly into the program to remove them. If you're erasing an entire hard drive, drag everything over, subfolders and all.

However, we tested it in Windows 10 and Windows 8 without any issues. MiniTool Drive Wipe is a small, simple program that runs from inside Windows like a regular program.

MiniTool Drive Wipe is easy to use. Just select whether you want to wipe a partition or whole disk and then choose a sanitization method. There aren't any unnecessary tools or settings that can be confusing. You can use this program on both traditional and solid state drives. Windows is also supported. XT File Shredder Lizard is another data destruction program that works in all the newer versions of Windows, like Windows 11 and Windows 10, and probably older ones, too.

To wipe a whole hard drive of its data, simply choose to add a folder and then select the root of the drive you wish to securely erase. If that doesn't work, add all the root folders, but just not the actual drive letter.

You can erase files on both SSDs and traditional hard drives. The program is a bit outdated, and therefore is a little different to move around in. WipeDisk is a portable hard drive wiper that's pretty easy to use and supports several data wipe methods. It works by selecting a drive and then choosing a wipe method. You can log activities to a file, optionally wipe just the free space, and choose custom text to use for overwriting data.

After clicking Wipe , you must read and confirm a four-character code to ensure you really want to use WipeDisk to erase all the files, which is a handy obstacle used to avoid accidentally erasing a whole hard drive. We tested WipeDisk on Windows 10 and Windows 8, but it should also run on previous versions of Windows too. WipeDisk defaults to German when it's first opened, but it can be easily changed from the Extras menu. Also, the download is a RAR file , which means you need an unzip utility like 7-Zip to extract out the program.

Puran Wipe Disk is a super simple program that can wipe all the files and folders on a drive. Both internal and external drives are compatible and you have the option to wipe just the free space or the entire disk. Like other non-bootable, installable programs in this list, you won't be able to use this program to wipe your C drive. As one of the simpler data destruction programs, BitKiller lets you add an entire hard drive to the list of files to destroy without any extra options or buttons to make things confusing.

Plus, it's completely portable. Because there isn't a "hard drive" section to BitKiller, you need to choose Add Folder and then select the hard drive you want to erase.

Something we don't like about BitKiller is that you can't cancel the file shredding once it has started. There is a cancel button, but it's not clickable once you've begun deleting a hard drive. We tested BitKiller in Windows 10 and Windows 8. BitKiller runs from inside the OS, which means you can't use it to erase the hard drive that you're using to run Windows.

To erase the C drive, you'll need to choose one of the programs from the beginning of this list that boots from a disc. It's easy to erase a whole hard drive with Simple File Shredder because it's as straightforward as browsing for the drive and clicking Shred Now. If you choose the Random Data wipe method, you can choose how many times you want the data overwritten.

Drag and drop and Windows context menu integration is supported, as well as password protection for the whole program. Simple File Shredder performs just as the name suggests - it's very easy to use and isn't as complicated as some of the others on this list.

Several diagnostic, cleaning, and optimization tools are included in Ashampoo WinOptimizer Free, and one of them is made specifically for erasing data from a hard drive.

Ashampoo WinOptimizer's mini program, called File Wiper, lets you erase the contents of a hard drive by choosing to load a folder. It can also erase the contents of the Recycle Bin and single files using any of the sanitization methods from below.

To use this tool, go to the File tools menu on the left of the program and then choose File Wiper from there. AbsoluteShield File Shredder is another data destruction program that's much like the others in this list. To remove all the data on a hard drive, just go to the File menu, choose Add Folder , and then select the root of the hard drive.

Instead of deleting a hard drive's files by opening the program first, you can do so from the right-click context menu in Windows Explorer by right-clicking any hard drive and choose AbsoluteShield File Shredder from the menu. The shredding method can be changed from the Action menu. DeleteOnClick is simple to use because it has no buttons, menus, or settings.

Use the program by right-clicking a hard drive and choosing Securely Delete. You'll be prompted to confirm the removal of all the files.

Portable version offers more functionality; thus, it requires a professional upgrade. Moo-Anti recovery is a free disk cleaning utility that is capable of erasing recoverable data from your hard disk. The utility does not erase files currently on the drive but wipes the empty spaces — that may contain previously deleted data — on your system or external hard drive, thereby ensuring deleted data is gone beyond recovery.

It has a simple and basic user interface with many language options. The tool provides the following options to choose what data needs to be deleted from the system,. These tools use different techniques and patterns to permanently erase data from the system. She is a technology blogger and Windows expert. She has experience in Windows data recovery domain.

She loves to troubleshoot Windows issue and write technical tips and tutorials. Stellar Data Recovery for Mac program performs safe.. Read More. US DOD 3 wipe algorithm is best among all. Yes, totally agree with your thoughts US dod is considered one of the best-known algorithm to wipe sensitive files. To erase the data off my laptop I used BitRaser for File.

All I can say is that the software is highly user interactive and erases data within the stipulated time. Your email address will not be published. Stellar Data Recovery Blog. It removes mostly all the available file extensions permanently.

As the name suggests, Freeraser is a freely available data eraser software that can wipe your data from your hard disk or a USB drive. Besides providing all the basic features, it also has a drag and drops solution to permanently remove files quickly.

Free File Shredder is a free data eraser program. It can help you completely erase your hard drive , or any other internal and external storage on Windows. Free File Shredder has two versions, both of which are useful for different scenarios.

It is usually used to erase data from C drive for Windows. Hard Disk Scrubber is an excellent way to manage your data and get free space on your system.

This easy to use data eraser software can also overwrite files and free space to manage your data. If you are still looking for another freely available eraser software, then you can also try WipeFile. It is a freely available tool that has been updated recently. It is a portable program and supports almost every file extension.

Now when you know about all the leading data eraser software and tools, you can easily pick the one that suits your requirements. Go ahead and use an eraser software like Stellar BitRaser for File and make your system look like brand new. Generally rated 4.