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Securely Erase Files - Is there an easy way?

Anonymous
2024-06-05T22:57:57+00:00

I've recently created a bunch of scans of my tax documents without first placing these scans into an encrypted folder. I have since created an encrypted folder and moved my sensitive documents over to the secured folder. The original files have not been deleted - since these are not in an encrypted folder I would like to securely erase these files.

A cursory search turned up something called sdelete - however, I am unable to run sdelete - because that command is not recognized in the Command Prompt terminal of my Windows 11 Pro machine.

I'm open to using other methods for securely deleting files. I'm not interested in a subscription - or annoying software that you pay for. I define "annoying" as software that aggressively advertises, presters, or is constantly doing everything under the sun EXCEPT the ONE thing you need it for. An example might be something like Norton which includes a way to clean your disk securely - but the annoyance factor, price, and constant interruptions from Norton make the effort and money spent not worth it.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Security and privacy

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-06-07T13:35:16+00:00

    I asked how to securely erase files.

    10+ people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2024-06-07T13:57:09+00:00

    I've already written about sdelete in my first post.

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2024-06-07T11:03:19+00:00

    Hello，Coupled Resonators

    Thank you for posting in the Microsoft community.

    I know you need a secure way to delete files. You have the option of using BitLocker to encrypt your entire hard disk. When you enable BitLocker, all data on your hard disk will be encrypted, including newly created, stored, modified or deleted files. This way you only need to use normal deletion and the files will be unrecoverable, which can keep sensitive files safe.

    You can refer to the following link for how to enable BitLocker.

    BitLocker operations guide - Windows Security | Microsoft Learn

    In addition, you can also use the Windows system's Encrypting File System (EFS) to encrypt individual files and improve security.

    For an introduction and method of EFS encryption, you can refer to the following link.

    File Encryption - Win32 apps | Microsoft Learn

    If you need further encryption measures to protect your sensitive files, you can consult the more professional forum Windows - Microsoft Q&A (English only), because more users post these questions there. You can click "Ask a question" and experts there can provide more professional solutions.

    I hope the above content can help you.

    Best Regards，

    Rota|Microsoft Community Support Specialist

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2024-06-07T13:55:46+00:00
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  5. Anonymous
    2024-06-07T13:50:02+00:00

    A quick search found the following among many other articles that describe the PowerShell - Cipher command that overwrites free drive space and is included in Windows 10 or 11. you can look for other articles, but this one I found from How-to-Geek seemed quite readable to me.

    How to Wipe a Drive on Windows 10 or Windows 11

    Found the initial Cipher option by searching for 'Windows 11 securely erasing files', then added the word Cipher to the following search to find the articles I chose this from.

    Cipher secure erase windows 11 at DuckDuckGo

    Personally, since thieves typically only want your device to resell and the basic security of Windows 10/11 is so high, it's unlikely anyone would see the data even if it wasn't erased, I'd simply allow the normal activity of Windows writing new files over the old ones to eventually obliterate first the directory entry remnants that point at the data that's typically scattered around the disk, then eventually the sectors containing the image data itself.

    I come from the days of the CP/M operating system where we actually had the tools freely available in source code form to access individual sectors of the disk and recover deleted files, but over time the filing systems like NTFS have progressed to where we often hear that people are unable to recover even recently deleted files using advanced tools, so it's something I personally stopped worrying about years ago.

    I'd only be concerned if I was planning to sell or give the computer to someone else, in which case the full disk format options or others mentioned in that article are enough to stop a future owners ability to access your past data.

    Rob

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