Backup, prevention of data loss and other related topics are very hot, but what about the opposite? "What opposite?", you will ask. Wiping, purge, shredding, destruction - these are some of the terms that can be used as an answer. The reasons of destroying data for good are well known, so if you don't want to find your credit card empty or your naked pictures all over the Internet, you'd better read about the program I have here!

The "data terminator" I got today is called Simple File Shredder, its latest version is numbered 3.2 and, unlike most programs built for this purpose, it's free. Yes, you read that well. "Free" like in "not for sale", "freely distributable" or "without any costs included". Is that awesome or what? The installation kit has 1.2MB in size and the setup process shouldn't take long or require any magical skill. Now, let's see what we have here!

Simple, easy to use, well organized and nicely done, this is Simple File Shredder's interface. The main window has a menu bar, a toolbar with excellent icons and a file list area. In fact, "file list" is not such a good term..."death row" or "shred row" are more adequate, if we think about the fate that awaits the items that get there...so let's find out more about the horrors that your files destined to perish have to face inside this killing machine!

Once you start the program, there isn't any time to lose: you are here with a purpose. The purpose is to destroy some files. First of all, you should add them to the death row. In order to do that, just press the first button from the toolbar and choose the item you want to add - files or folders. There are two alternate ways of doing that - using the keyboard shortcuts, or using the items found in the File menu.

Good, the files to push into the abyss are selected, but...that's my photo archive! Don't worry; just remove it from the list. If the list is too large and can't find it, just use the Quick Search tool to find the item you want to grant forgiveness to. With this tool, you can find files based on their name, extension, or use a file size filter.

Now, we don't have much work left. Just press the button Shred Now... and you'll be given the power to choose the data purge method. There are three deletion strategies available here - the DoD method, the famous 35-pass Gutmann data destruction method and a custom quick delete that allows you to choose the number of overwrites to perform (between one and three passes).

As additional goodies, there is a free space shredder and a system shredder that can be customized to destroy tracks left by Internet Explorer, Firefox or some temporary files from your Windows system. The good (but also very dangerous!) part here is that you can define custom system cleaning and choose the areas to clean, but be careful, since you can clean your system so well, that it won't start ever again... until you put your backup disks into action or reinstall your operating system, of course.

Really amazing, but this program does its job, looks good, is easy to use and, above all that, it dares to be free! Excellent, let's have some conclusions now!

The Good

Simple File Shredder is a great tool to keep at your side for removing unwanted data forever. Its strong points are the ease of use, good looks, the support for Gutmann's data purge method and the price: 0$.

The Bad

This program has a dangerous side - the system cleaning feature, and that should have a lot of warnings with it, because if you mess with your system files, you won't get a second chance.

The Truth

Free data destruction? Yes, sir! Even better than using a hammer on your hard drive(s), use a program. Even better than just a program, a free one! Today's free data shredder is Simple File Shredder, and all you have to do now is get it, install it and use it carefully. Good luck and stay safe!

Here are some snapshots of the application in action: