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- What are the System Requirements for running ShredIt?
- What's the difference between using a shredding utility and deleting items using the trash can?
- How can I determine whether I need a shredding utility?
- Are the other versions of ShredIt?
- Is there a ShredIt Tutorial?
- How do I run the free trial
Registration and Installation
- How do I install/uninstall ShredIt?
- ShredIt runs but doesn't do anything except beep. What's wrong?
- How do I know if I've successfully registered the software?
Operation
- ShredIt won't launch when I drag something onto it. What do I do?
- Can I use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 to erase a file?
- Can I use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 to erase a folder?
- Can I use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 as a hard drive cleaner to wipe the free space on a disk?
- Can I use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 as a hard drive cleaner to erase previously deleted files?
- Can I use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 as a hard drive cleaner to erase a hard drive?
- Can I use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 as a hard drive cleaner to erase an external hard drive?
- Can I use ShredIt to erase my internet files - internet cache, history files, email trash?
- How do I erase a floppy disk?
- Can I shred an alias?
- I quit ShredIt before it finished and it left files in the trash. Have they been shredded?
- I quit ShredIt before it finished shredding and now my hard drive is full. What do I do?
- What are the technical details?
- What happens if I use a File Recovery Utility?
- Your FAQ doesn't answer my question/I need further help. What do I do?
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1. What are the System Requirements for running ShredIt?
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This information is available
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2. What's the difference between using a shredding utility and deleting items using the trash can?
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Throwing a file in the recycle bin does not remove the file contents from the hard disk – it just removes the file name from the directory, leaving the data intact and vulnerable. In order to securely delete the file contents from the hard disk, you need to overwrite the area on the disk where the file contents are stored with other data. This is what ShredIt does.
In addition, you need to ensure that you securely delete all copies of the file. When you edit a file, the application program will create and delete working copies each time you save, leaving mulitple copies of your file on the hard disk in the disk free space area. In order to securely delete these copies, you need to shred your free space. ShredIt also does this.
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3. How can I determine whether I need a shredding utility?
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To assess your risk, take the ShredIt Quiz available from
http://www.mireth.com/text/si_test.html
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4. Are the other versions of ShredIt?
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Yes.
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5. Is there a tutorial?
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Yes there is. Refer to our site at http://www.mireth.com/wt/sime-quickstart.html
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6. Is there a free trial?
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Yes there is. For complete instructions on how to install or uninstall,
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7. How do I install/uninstall ShredIt?
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For complete instructions on how to install or uninstall,
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8. ShredIt runs but doesn't do anything except beep. What's wrong?
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You haven't registered the software.
- If you have already entered your Registration Information and are getting this message, there is an error in the Registration Information you have entered. Please follow these steps:
- Verify that you entered the correct License Type. If you purchased online, check that the License Type you entered matches the one in the email you received from us. If you purchased from a retail outlet, use the License Type "Individual"
- Verify that you entered the correct Purchase's ID. If you purchased online, enter the Email address used when the product was purchased. If you purchased from a retail outlet, use the Purchaser's ID that came with the product.
- Verify that you entered the Serial Number correctly. Check for the following common problems:
- typing the letter O or I instead of the number 0 or 1
- transposing 2 digits
- adding extra spaces before or after the Purchaser's ID or Serial Number
- entering the registration information more than once (click in the field and scroll with the arrow keys to see this)
- entering the registration information for the wrong product.
If you can't enter the Registration Key,
- if the Registration Key field contains the following message:
"Demo version - Try before you buy!", you are trying to enter the Registration Key in the DEMO version (which does not require a key), instead of the full version. Quit from the DEMO program, run the full version of ShredIt and try again.
- If that didn't solve the problem, delete your preferences file and configure ShredIt again. The preferences file's location is:
Hard Drive>System Folder>Preferences>ShredIt Prefs
- If that didn't solve the problem, contact Product Support at:
support@mireth.com
- If you want to register the program, enter the Registration Information and click the "Register" Button. If you purchased online, the Registration Information is in the email we sent you. If you purchased from a retail outlet, the Registration Information is printed on the CD and packaging. For further information about registering, refer to the Read Me in the documentation folder.
- If you are trying to run the demo, quit from "ShredIt" and run "ShredIt DEMO" instead.
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9. How do I know if I've successfully registered the software?
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If the program is registered, the Register Dialog Box will not be displayed when you run the program.
If you are already a registered user and you have downloaded a free upgrade, your old registration information is retained. You don't need to re-register.
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10. ShredIt won't launch when I drag something onto it. What do I do?
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You need to rebuild the desktop. If this does not solve the problem, contact Product Support.
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11. Can I use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 to shred a file?
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Yes, you can use ShredIt to shred one file at a time. For step-by-step instructions,
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12. Can I use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 to erase a folder?
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Yes, you can use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 to erase a folder at a time. For step-by-step instructions,
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13. Can I use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 as a hard drive cleaner to wipe the free space on a disk?
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Yes, you can use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 as a hard drive cleaner to wipe, shred or erase the free space on your hard drive. For step-by-step instructions,
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14. Can I use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 as a hard drive cleaner to erase previously deleted files?
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Yes, you can use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 to shred files you've already deleted. You just need to shred the free space on your hard drive. For step-by-step instructions,
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15. Can I use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 as a hard drive cleaner to erase a hard drive?
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Yes, you can use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 as a hard drive cleaner to erase the contents of a hard drive. We recommend that you do this to clean the drive before you dispose of a computer. For step-by-step instructions,
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16. Can I use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 as a hard drive cleaner to erase an external hard drive?
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Yes, you can use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 as a hard drive cleaner to erase the contents of an external hard drive. We recommend that you do this to clean the drive before you dispose of a hard drive. For step-by-step instructions,
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17. Can I use ShredIt to erase my internet files - internet cache, history files, email trash?
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Yes, you can use ShredIt for Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 as a hard drive cleaner to erase temporary internet files, although we don't recommend this because of the amount of work involved. For step-by-step instructions,
For a convenient way of doing this, consider NetShred, our automatic internet track eraser. NetShred will automatically locate and erase temporary internet files every time you quit from your browser or email program.
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18. How do I erase a floppy disk?
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For step-by-step instructions,
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19. Can I shred an alias?
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Yes. For step-by-step instructions,
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20. I quit ShredIt before it finished and it left files in the trash. Have they been shredded?
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None of the files left in the trash are completely shredded. You need to drag the ShredIt Items (nnnnn) folder from the Trash on to the ShredIt icon to finish shredding. If the files will not shred, there may be a problem with your hard disk. Please contact Support.
(Please Note: ShredIt did not cause the problem with your hard drive. The inability to shred files or free space is often indicative of bad sectors on the drive, an early indicator of a failing hard drive.)
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21. I quit ShredIt before it finished shredding and now my hard drive is full. What do I do?
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If you quit the job part way through, ShredIt will leave its working files in the trash, using up some of your hard drive. To correct this
- Empty the trash. You will have freed up your hard drive, but will have unshredded items in free space.
- Shred the free space. For further information about shredding free space, see the ShredIt Read Me file.
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22. What are the technical details?
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By shredding, we mean that for each requested file ShredIt will overwrite the contents of the file, the data fork, the resource fork, the file name, the file type and the file owner. The pattern of bits which ShredIt will use to overwrite with is configured by the user. The default pattern used is proprietary. The number of times the data will be overwritten is configured by the user. The default number of times the data is overwritten is proprietary.
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23. What happens if I use a File Recovery Utility?
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If you are using a File Recovery Utility, and you shred files using ShredIt or NetShred, you will be able to recover the names of the files you have shredded, but not the contents. For an explanation of why, read on.
A File Recovery Utility will recover files that have been erased. It does this by keeping a separate directory of the files on your hard drive and keeping the current location of the last contents of the file. So, if you accidentally deleted your doctoral thesis, you could recover the file using a File Recovery Utility. But, if you had made changes to your thesis first, saved it and then deleted it, your File Recovery Utility could recover the file, but not recover it the way it once was, before you changed it.
Both NetShred and ShredIt work by overwriting the contents of each file with random data before deleting the file. So, even if you use a File Recovery Utility, it can't recover data in the file the way it once was before NetShred or ShredIt overwrote the file with random data. It can, however, recover the file name since it stores this in it's own directory file.
Since the function of a shredder utility is to make files unrecoverable and the function of a file recovery utility is to make files recoverable, you have to decide which is more important to you. We'd recommend the following:
- If you don't want to be able to recover the file name or file contents of any file you want to get rid of, use a file shredder utility (ShredIt, NetShred) to dispose of it and don't use a file recovery utility on your machine.
- If you want to be able to recover the contents of any file you have gotten rid of, use a file recovery utility on your machine, but don't use a file shredder utility, since you won't be able to recover the contents of any file you shred.
- If you don't want to be able to recover the contents of any file you have shredded, but do want to be able to recover the contents of any file you have deleted, use both a file recovery utility and a file shredder utility on your machine. (Just make sure you don't shred a file you might want to recover.) This will be a good compromise provided that the ability to recover the file name does not compromise your security.
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24. Your FAQ doesn't answer my question/I need further help. What do I do?
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If your question is not answered, please contact Product Support at support@mireth.com. Please include the following information:
- Problem description
- If you are having problems with a particular product, please include the following information as well:
- What product and version you are having problems with.
To find the version number,
Mac: single click the product icon and Get Info
(OS8/9- File:Get Info) (OSX- File:Show Info)
Windows: single click the product icon and show properties (File:Properties:Version tab)
- What OS version you are running.
To find the version number,
Mac: OS8/9: (Apple Menu:About this Computer)
OS X: (Apple Menu:About this Mac)
Windows: (Start Menu:My Computer:Help:About Windows)
- Whether you are using the demo version or the registered version of the product
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