Is there a built-in cmd command/utility on Windows that can shred files (delete and overwrite with random data) without the need to use third party software? In linux i would use shred. It a wonderful tool that not only deletes files, but also destroys any "residue" left on the disk by overwriting the data.
Answer
Probably not. Unless they added one in Win 8
I recently purchased a new Pc with Win 7, the manufacturer bundled a third party shredder application. I infer that either there isn't one as standard (and I've never heard of one) or (less likely?) that the manufacturer added some unnecessary bloatware without the usual sliver of justification.
It's hard to prove a negative though.
Notes:
Shred only overwrites a file, it doesn't seek out fragments and copies of the data in unallocated disk space (caused by editing etc).
You don't need to overwrite a file more than once. Statements to the contrary have been thoroughly debunked long ago.
It doesn't matter what you overwrite it with.
So just copying a sufficiently large but innocuous file over the top will suffice.
Update
You could delete the file then use cipher
- Quit all programs.
- Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER.
- Type cipher /w:driveletter:\foldername, and then press ENTER. Specify the drive and the folder that identifies the volume that contains the deleted data that you want to overwrite. Data that is not allocated to files or folders will be overwritten. This permanently removes the data. This can take a long time if you are overwriting a large space.
It's probably quicker to just copy a big file over the sensitive file, but safer to clear unallocated space.
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