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How to wipe disk free space on a hard drive
using ShredIt for Windows
You can use ShredIt as a hard drive cleaner to wipe the disk free space on a hard drive.
- Disk free space is the area on your hard drive containing de-allocated memory. This is where all the data you have previously deleted is stored, until it is overwritten by something else.
- To shred the data you have previously deleted, you need to wipe disk free space. If you have a lot of disk free space or a slow hard drive, shredding free space can take a while.
- Once you have erased the data you have previously deleted, all your confidential deleted data has been securely disposed of. After that, to ensure that all future confidential documents are securely deleted, drag them to ShredIt shredder, not to the Recycle Bine. (See: How to shred a file) If you accidentally put a confidential document into the recycle bin, and empty the recycle bin, then you need to shred the free space again to securely delete it.
- If you wipe the free space on a disk by mistake, don't panic. Using this procedure will only shred your free space, not your data. We've made it easy to shred the free space of a disk and more difficult to shred the contents of a disk. This is intentional, so that you don't accidentally shred the contents of a disk (i.e. your data).
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Requirements
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Instructions
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There are two ways to wipe the free space on a disk using ShredIt for Windows.
Drag the hard drive onto the ShredIt Icon and drop it
or
Double-click the ShredIt Icon to start the program.Then pick the disk you want to shred using the “FreeSpace” Drop Down Menu above the Shred Freespace button. Then click the "Shred Freespace" Button.
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Notes
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- For more detailed information about ShredIt for Windows, refer to the
- Tutorials are available for other versions of ShredIt
- There's an important difference between the technical terms "delete" and "secure delete".
- The technical computer term "delete" refers to the type of computer function where the data is marked as deleted, but not really gone. Functions such as dragging a file to the trash/recycle bin and then emptying it marks the data as deleted so the space can be used again, but the data itself remains on the hard drive and recoverable until it is overwritten by something else. On a hard drive with lots of free space, this could take months or even years.
- On the other hand, the technical term "secure delete" refers to the type of computer function where the data is overwritten by other characters so the data can't be recovered. "Secure Delete" is also referred to as "clean", "wipe", "erase" and "shred". Computer software that performs this type of function is often called a "file shredder" a "data shredder" or "secure delete utility".
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