[deh]

Yeah yeah i know the absolute way to ensure you data is gone is to completely physically destroy your hard drive but this is way better than merely using Delete key.

Download:
http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/download.php

Info:
http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/
Eraser is an advanced security tool (for Windows), which allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns. Works with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP and DOS.
Eraser is FREE software and its source code is released under GNU General Public License.

The patterns used for overwriting are based on Peter Gutmann's paper "Secure Deletion of Data from Magnetic and Solid-State Memory" and they are selected to effectively remove magnetic remnants from the hard drive.

Other methods include the one defined in the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual of the US Department of Defence and overwriting with pseudorandom data. You can also define your own overwriting methods.

Top reviews from the most popular software sites and magazines confirm that Eraser is one of the best security tools available for Windows.

[JohnWill]

Thanks, I've been asked for one of these several times, free is always good!

[tgal]

DBAN is also a good one: http://dban.sourceforge.net/

[JohnWill]

DBAN is a total disk eraser, that's quite different in capability from Eraser. Both are useful utilities, but don't have the same application.

[tgal]

I see your point and agree.

[hewee]

If anyone has Norton System Works or Norton Utilities then you have on the CD software that not get installed unless you pick a custom install.
May even be on one of your other Norton CD's so your have to look.
You can go to the CD and then click on "Cdstart" and you get a box and then you can pick "Launch Utilities from CD"
Then your see "Wipe Info" and you can click on it.
Here is the help info on it.

Introducing Wipe Info
Wipe Info removes all traces of selected files or folders from your hard drive. Free space can also be wiped from your hard drive, ensuring that previously deleted information is not left on your hard drive.
You can use Fast Wipe to write any character you choose to the area of the drive you are wiping. Alternately, you can use Government Wipe—a seven-pass procedure that conforms to the method specified in DoD (Department of Defense) document 5220-22-M, National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual.

Be certain before you wipe anything with Wipe Info. You cannot unerase information after it has been wiped.

Note: Windows Me System Restore can restore files that have been wiped if they are one of the protected file types. By default, many document types, such as .DOC and .XLS files in My Documents are protected. Windows Me System Restore maintains a copy of protected files. Wiping the original file does not wipe the copy that Windows Me System Restore maintains.

© 1994-2001 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved.

So not matter what program you use it looks like System Restore will still have a copy of protected files.

More from the help files...

Welcome to Wipe Info Wizard

Wipe Info Wizard erases information from your hard drive so that it cannot be recovered.
You can wipe files, folders, or free space from your hard drive.

When you wipe a file, Wipe Info wipes the file and attempts to wipe any free space associated with the file and the file’s directory entry.
When you wipe a folder, Wipe Info wipes all the files in the folder, and then if the folder is empty, it attempts to wipe the directory entry for the folder.
When you wipe free space, Wipe Info wipes the free drive space, file slack space, and erased file entries.
You cannot unerase files that have been wiped.

---------------------

About the wiping process

Wipe Info has two choices for wiping.

Fast Wipe writes the value 0, or any other value you choose, to replace the data being wiped.
Government Wipe is a 7-pass procedure that conforms to the Sanitization procedure specified in DoD (Department of Defense) document 5220-22-M, National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual.

The steps for a Government Wipe are as follows:

1 The data is overwritten with all 0s, and then overwritten by all 1s.
2 The first step is repeated as many times as you like.
3 Then a random value, or any other value you choose from 0 to 255, is written.
4 The value written is verified to insure that it was written correctly.
5 The entire process is repeated as many times as you like.

To be certain that you wipe everything off your hard disk, be sure to empty the Recycle Bin first.

[JohnWill]

Why use the bloated and buggy Norton stuff when better free alternatives exist?

[hewee]

John it is on the CD and it will run from the CD so you do not have to install it.
I just wanted to let others know that it is there if they want it too.