Securely Removing Data with Eraser
Revised:October 25, 2006
This document provides basic step-by-step instructions for usingEraser, a secure data removal tool for Windows, freely available under the GNUPublic License.
Eraser can be used for securely erasing files, folders,Recycle Bin contents, and unused drive space on Windows systems. It can also be used to securely move files orfolders.
Eraser can be installed from the Xweb website.
More information about Eraser can be found at the followingwebsites:
http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/
http://sourceforge.net/projects/eraser/
Erasing files or folders
To erase the contents of a file or folder, begin bynavigating to the file or folder in Windows Explorer or ‘My Computer’.
Right click the file or folder you want to erase and select‘Erase’.
You will be asked to confirm that you wish to erase the fileor folder you have selected. Click ‘Yes’to begin erasing your selection.
CAUTION: Erasingfiles or folders will permanently remove the data they contain from your harddrive. You will not be able to recoverdata once it has been erased, so be certain that you have selected the correctfile or folder before proceeding.
A window will appear showing the progress of erasing yourselection.
When your selection has been erased, an Erasing Report willbe displayed. Click ‘Close’ to closethis window.
Erasing the contents ofthe Recycle Bin
To erase the contents of the Recycle Bin, right-clickthe Recycle Bin and select ‘Erase Recycle Bin’.
You will be asked to confirm that you wish to erase thecontents of the Recycle Bin. Click ‘Yes’to begin erasing the Recycle Bin contents.
A window will appear showing the progress of erasing theRecycle Bin contents.
When your selection has been erased, an Erasing Report willbe displayed. Click ‘Close’ to closethis window.
Erasing unused space on adrive or removable disk
For best results, you should save and close all open documentsand close all applications before you erase the unused space on your harddrive, floppy or Zip disk, or flash drive.
The following steps describe the process for erasing unusedspace on an internal hard drive. To eraseunused space on a floppy or Zip disk, insert the floppy or Zip disk into theappropriate disk drive on your computer and follow the steps below. For flash drives and external hard drives,make sure the drive is connected to your computer and follow the steps below.
To erase the unused space on your hard drive, begin bydouble-clicking on ‘My Computer’.
Right click your hard drive (C: on most systems) and select‘Erase unused space’.
NOTE: Eraser does notsupport erasing unused space on network drives, such as the V: or Z: drives.
You will be asked to confirm that you wish to erase theunused space on the drive you have selected.Click ‘Yes’ to begin erasing the unused space on the drive you haveselected.
CAUTION: Erasing theunused space on a drive will permanently remove any data contained in theunused space on that drive. You will notbe able to recover any such data once it has been erased, so be certain thatyou have selected the correct drive before proceeding.
A window will appear showing the progress of erasing yourselection. The process begins with ananalysis of the hard drive, which can take several minutes to complete.
The next step is the overwriting of cluster tips. A cluster tip (also known as slack space) isthe unused area at the end of the last cluster allocated to storing a file onthe drive.
NOTE: Do not be alarmed that Eraser is processing all of the fileson your drive – it is not erasing your files, just the unused space at the endof the last cluster used to store them.
Finally, the unused space on the drive is overwritten,eliminating any data that may have been stored in that part of the drive.
When the process has finished, an Erasing Report will bedisplayed. Some unused areas on the drivemay not be overwritten because they are in use or belong to protected systemfiles. Click ‘Close’ to close thiswindow.
Securely moving files orfolders
Eraser can also be used to securely move files orfolders. In a secure move, Eraser copiesthe data you select to the location of your choice, and then securely deletesthe data from the source location.
NOTE: Eraser does notencrypt the data it is moving in a secure move.The ‘secure’ in ‘secure move’ refers to the deletion of the source dataafter it has been copied to the chosen destination.
To securely move a file or folder, begin by navigating tothe file or folder in Windows Explorer or ‘My Computer’.
Right click the file or folder you want to erase and select‘Eraser Secure Move’.
You will be prompted to choose a destination to move yourselection to. Navigate to the locationyou want to copy your selection to and then click on ‘OK’.
You will be asked to confirm that you wish to move the fileor folder you have selected. Click ‘Yes’to begin moving your selection.
Once your selection has been copied to the destination youhave chosen, a window will appear showing the progress of erasing the sourcefile or folder. An erasing report willnot be displayed when the source data has been erased.
| Name | Date | Brief Description |
| mattc | 10/25/06 | Page created |
