Why wipe sensitive files? If you concerned about your privacy then I'm sure you know about file wipers and what they do. These tools address the security problems associated with deletion operation. In Windows OS user cannot do a secure deletion of files. This means that anyone who has access to your computer or to the hard disk of your computer can recover your deleted files. Let me list some facts and questions that often discussed when we talk about secure deletion of data. 1) The first fact is that any deleted file can be recovered. There is no need to buy expensive tools, even freeware file recovery utility can do this for you or for other person. 2) The second fact is that pressing delete + shift keys don't make file irrecoverable. Anyone can still recover your sensitive information. 3) The third fact is that emptying Recycle Bin will not help secure your files too. So why developers of OS don't include this feature? A good question, and the answer is that we actually don't want all files to be irrecoverable. There is a chance that you might delete some really important file. Developers of OS give you a choice – to use or not to use file wipers. Those who are concerned about security prefer to user file wipers. Functions of file wipers There are a lot of ways to secure your data. Some works well, other don't actually help. The most popular approach is wiping free disk space regularly. This is a good idea, but you must have in mind that you will be able to wipe free space only in the end of working day or week, so some files could be recovered before this. Also, some software products silently delete and create files, so wiping free space is not a 100% guaranty of file security. Another idea is to use a file wiper every time you wish to securely delete your file. It's a great idea as you know what files are really important and should be deleted without possibility to recover. The bad news is that you will need to do some additional steps to process file to file wiper. But in most cases it is just few more clicks. Where wiping free space and file wipers don't work?There are some security holes. First, we should consider files that are created by programs silently, these files can be a cached data or temporary file that office programs always creates. In this case file wiper simply doesn't know what to wipe! As temporary file may actually appear at your hard disk for a second, but will contain a valuable information. For sure, wiping free space is performing better, but remember that it will wipe only space that is actually free. It will not consider cached data (the history and cache or your internet browser), it will not consider some sectors just because the shredder could damage your data. Another security risk is remote users that may access your hard drive by LAN. Keeping files secure is the art. It was the art when only security admin knew about tools we had to use. Various file wipers, wiping free space every weekend and so on. For now, ask your security admin to install a background mode file wiper and …forget about your security risks. Well, you still might face a problem as wiping operation is a little longer that deletion. So it would be great if you could fine tune your shredder to wipe only specific files or files within a specific location. In this way you will save your time and will still stay secure.