deleting question

[mjatas]

first.

1) how to delete a file or folder or folder with files in them so no one can view those files again ever?

2) if you reformat you hdd can people still find your personal files (data)?

3) when you delete anything from your hdd and then delete those files from the trash bin then where do these files go? Do they go out of the hard drive?

4) how to delete folders or files with long long file names or stuff that has been added to your computer and can't delete them? I had this incident before I couldn't delete some files or folders no matter what I did to delete.

5) how to (for free) protect any of your files on your computer (with a password) so no one can access certain programs, files or folders? If someone else uses your computer you want them to be able only to use certain programs or to block some folders/files you don't want them to see. What free software will let you do this?

I use Windows XP Pro (version 2002)

thanks!

[rspassey]

1) Right click, delete, then empty trash bin (or delete it again from trash can), and unless someone pulls out a data recovery program your file is gone.

2)Yes, through very expensive measure there is a chance they could find the files again, however if you zero fill and rewrite your HDD, everything is gone for good

3)They technically could still be recovered untill they are over writen, but the files aren't accessible anymore (by common means)

4) There are some files like OS files that you aren't supposed to delete, often some of these get really odd names - similarily with some malware which comes with random file names yet can't be delete, there are some third party softwares you can try to use which delete the file on reboot. Hijack This has a tool for this.

5)You can create other user accounts in which the admin (you) can password protect and set user restrictions which can't be altered by other non-admins. You can also encrypt data and password protect with 3rd party software... I don't know which are good and which aren't (sorry).

[Digitalic]

To be sure try going here.

When a file is deleted only the portion of the file that points to it`s location on the hard drive is actually deleted (known as the pointer) but the entire file itself is still intact and very recoverable with free software readily available.

The above mentioned software overwrites the area on the hard drive where the file resides making it for the most part, irrecoverable. I say for the most part because after this point it would take very sophisticated (and extremely expensive) recovery efforts.

[doctorgonzo]

Originally Posted by ryan124712 5)You can create other user accounts in which the admin (you) can password protect and set user restrictions which can't be altered by other non-admins. You can also encrypt data and password protect with 3rd party software... I don't know which are good and which aren't (sorry).

You don't need any 3rd party software if you are using Windows XP Pro. As long as the drive is NTFS formatted, you can set up security permissions and encryption: http://www.techexams.net/technotes/xp/efs.shtml

The Eraser program that Digitalic links to is very good. I have been using it for years. You can set it to overwrite the file to be deleted as many times as you want. 3 overwrites is probably enough, and 15 is going to make it next to impossible to recover data unless you invest tens of thousands of dollars in an electron microscope. If you think the government is reading your thoughts using mind-control technology, you can set it for even more than 15.