File shredding software

Do you ever worry that files stored on your computer could fall into the wrong hands? Even if you delete a file, its imprint may still be on your hard drive – and it can probably be restored in just a few seconds. File shredder software obliterates these imprints, so files can’t be recovered. It’ll give you peace of mind when cleaning data from your computer.

File shredding software explained

File shredding software destroys the imprint of a deleted file on your computer disk by overwriting it again and again. When done thoroughly enough, this eliminates all trace of the original file from your computer, making reconstruction impossible.

It’s vital you protect all sensitive data, no matter where you keep it. So it’s wise to shred files on your computer in the same way you should shred your bank statements.

Getting started with file shredding software

Most file shredding software can shred a wide range of file types. But always make sure the software you pick can handle the kind of files you work with. It’s no good choosing software that shreds files created with Microsoft Office if all your data is stored in a different format.

Scheduled scrubbing is a useful feature too. It will check regularly (perhaps daily or weekly) for deleted files and then shred them automatically. This means you don’t need to remember to load the software and shred files yourself.

It’s very important your shredding software does a thorough job. For data to be really and truly unrecoverable, it has to be overwritten again and again and again.

Some shredders overwrite using data which is more effective at destroying the file imprint. ‘Military grade shredding’ generally indicates the software has been tested to military standards. As you can imagine, that makes it adequate for deleting your old financial records!

You might think that once you’ve deleted a file from your computer, you no longer need to worry about it. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. File shredding software gives you a last line of defense, ensuring that when you delete a file, it stays deleted.