Destroying files

[Randall Hopper]

Jon Cosby:
 |Randall Hopper:
 |
 |>  |Is there a utility out there for finding and destroying deleted files
 |>  |from my hard drive?
 |>
 |> I'm not sure if this is a genuine question or flame bait.  Could you
 |> clarify your request?  What platform?  What tools do you use to delete?
 |>
 |> On a hunch, is this MSWindoze?  And are the "deleted" files you speak
 |> of in that "wastebasket" thing?  If so, realize that you can turn the
 |> wastebasket off (i.e. really delete files when you say to delete them).
 |
 |Yes, I'm on Windows 95. No, deleting files does not remove them from your
 |hard drive; They can be recovered by computer forensics experts or by nosey
 |hacks. I'm putting my PC up for sale, and the thought is troubling.

Now I understand your request.  You don't just want to make sure the OS
really deletes your files, you want to zero-out all disk space not
allocated to files.

This has nothing to do with Python, so I'll be brief.  Most defrag utils
will let you zero-fill unused clusters of your disk.  Keep in mind they may
not clean up deleted file directory entries in the directory clusters, and
won't clean up unused keys/personal info/etc. in Windoze INI
files/registries, etc.  Safest bet is a reformat of your hard drive.

-- 
Randall Hopper
aa8vb at yahoo.com