14 DAY TRIAL // When throwing away your old computer, the deleted data files with confidential information can be recovered using specialized programs. If your bank account data or some valuable source code could be used by third parties, that wouldn't be nice at all. In fact, it may be a disaster, in most cases. What can be done about it?
The answer is easy, just wipe all the partitions! Usually you can perform this operation using a hammer, a shotgun or a flamethrower when your old computer has to end in the garbage can, but what if you want to sell it or give it away?
The process of deliberately, irreversibly removing or destroying the data stored on a memory device (magnetic disks, flash memory drives, etc.) is generally known as Data Sanitization. Paragon Disk Wiper is a sanitization program built to take away any worries about your residual data.
The installation process is quick and easy, and once completed you will face a clean interface with clean graphics. There are seven menus in the menu bar, a toolbar with two buttons, a panel with two menus and the main work area.
As you explore them, you can discover that this program is a lot more than just a data wiper. First of all, you can get all the relevant info about your hard drive and partitions, like the type of the file system, serial number and ID of the selected partition, free and occupied space and more.
Partitions can be explored using the sectors viewer, but can also be created, deleted or have their surface wiped. A very useful feature is the disk surface test, because sometimes bad sectors can still contain readable data. When you talk about securing secret information, there's no "too much", so this program offers just what it should - security.
The program has a nice built in browser window allowing you to check the Help system and information about the Data Sanitization Process, as well as access the buy page on the producer's website.
Disk Wiper Professional has two wizards: Wipe and Media Builder, but the second one is only available in the full version. Its purpose is to build a boot CD/DVD to help you sanitize the drives of computers that don't have an operating system installed on them.
There aren't many settings for Paragon Disk Wiper, in fact there's only one that you can set in this demo version - the wipe method, of course. There are enough powerful methods, including the Gutmann algorithm, so you don't have to worry. If you like, you can define your own custom wipe method (but only from the Wizard, not from the Settings area, which is a bit strange).
What else can I say? Let the sanitization begin!
The Good
Paragon Disk Wiper has an intuitive interface and all the features needed for its purpose. It has a very good price for the features offered by the licensed version.
The Bad
The demo version of the program lacks most features of the full one, but you get a lot of information about everything that you should know related to the program's features and the way it works.
The Truth
This is a demo that should make you uninstall it quickly or buy the full version with the same speed. I would like to see Wiping Media Builder at work and the other missing features, but from my past experiences with Paragon applications I can tell that they won't disappoint you.
Don't wait any longer, get this demo and start sanitizing your hard drives today!
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
