Advanced File Shredder

Just because files end up in the Recycle Bin and you empty it doesn’t mean they can’t be brought back. This might not be quite alright when removing important files, knowing someone else can retrieve them. If you want to make sure they’re gone for good, then applications like Advanced File Shredder are what you need.

With the application installed, you’re free to launch it and see what it’s all about. The main window wants to make sure you don’t have any problems accommodating, with descriptions and hints every step of the way. There’s a large list of files that get to be removed, as well as a toolbar with all related functions.

Since it’s a removal application, it doesn’t matter what kind of file you select for the process, and it can even be an entire folder. These can either be dragged over the main window, or you can use the built-in browse dialog to get them on the list.

Before going through with the process, you can take the time to configure how the process goes, what method to use, and a few others. A drop-down menu lets you choose from US DOD, Gutmann, or the application’s cryptographically strong random data. Depending on the one you pick, it’s also possible to set the number of passes to overwrite data.

More options let you mangle file date and name before deletion, to make it even more difficult for recovery programs to succeed, and overwrite cluster tails. This is not all the application can do. Opening the actions menu unveils the possibility to shred Recycle Bin content, as well as temporary files from your web browser.

All things considered, we come to the conclusion that Advanced File Shredder is a practical application you can keep around to get rid of sensible data for good. One of several strong removal algorithms can be used and configured, with other options to shred browser data and files in the Recycle Bin.