Overview

Files may be securely deleted using File Shredder. File Shredder is free desktop application available on Windows for shredding (destroying) unwanted files beyond recovery. On Mac computers, files may be securely deleted using a feature built into the OS.

Why should you shred information?

There are quite a few software tools today for retrieval of deleted files. Those tools, often referred to as "file recovery" software, are taking advantage of shortcoming the "delete" command that we all use regularly to delete files. Actually, the "delete" operation only removes bits of information from files so they appear deleted in OS. It is easy to retrieve those files using aforementioned specialized file recovery software. In order to remove, or shred files permanently from your system you have to use a program that is capable of rewriting the files with random series of binary data multiple times. This process is often called shredding. That way, the actual content of the file has been overwritten and the possibilities to recover such a shredded file are mostly theoretical.

What should be shredded?

Any information that you need to be completely deleted beyond recovery should be shredded. Before shredding a file, please ensure that you are not violating any State Records Laws or Sunshine Laws. For more information, please see the Records Management Overview.

How to shred files

FAQs

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