File Shredder - Disk Wipe Software File Shredder - Disk Wipe Software
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File Shredder - Disk Wipe Software overwrites files, free space and whole non-system drives on Windows 11 and 10. Pick one of 16 erasure methods, from a single fast pass up to Gutmann's 35.

   
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One free run, no sign-upWindows 11 / 1016 erasure methods
File Shredder - Disk Wipe Software Screenshot.
Pressing Delete and emptying the Recycle Bin removes only the file's entry. The data stays on the disk until something else happens to write over it, and a free recovery app can pull it back months later. SoftOrbits file shredder software does that overwrite on purpose. It writes zeros, random data or a named standard pattern over every byte the file used, and only then removes the entry. On a hard drive, a recovery scan afterwards finds the pattern and nothing else.

Delete, format, reinstall: what happens to the data

The built-in ways to get rid of files work on the file table. The bytes underneath mostly stay.

The usual way

Delete and format

  • Delete and an emptied bin drop the entry, the bytes remain
  • A quick format builds a fresh index over the old one
  • Removing partitions from install media leaves old sectors untouched
VS
The overwrite way

Shred and wipe

  • New bytes are written over the old ones
  • The done screen lists passes and failures
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Sell the laptop, not your photo albums.

Sell the laptop, not your photo albums

Used PCs sometimes change hands with the previous owner's photo albums still on them. Erasing the OS along with them prevents that, yet a PC that won't boot sells for less. With SoftOrbits File Shredder your Documents, Pictures and Downloads get overwritten in place while the OS remains, so the buyer gets a working PC.

   
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No drill, no boot stick, no hex editor

Forum advice on making deleted stuff unrecoverable often ends with a Linux live USB, a dd one-liner or a hammer. That works for people who like the terminal, and for people who like hammers. Here it is a regular desktop app. Pick the targets, choose a method, press the button. The confirm dialog states the exact item count before anything is touched, since there is no undo.

   
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No drill, no boot stick, no hex editor.
Paper proof when someone asks.

Paper proof when someone asks

IT teams often need a paper trail for every drive they wipe, and enterprise erasure suites are priced for far bigger jobs. Here every shred or wipe run can end with a PDF Certificate of Data Erasure. Print it or attach it to the ticket.

   
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What it erases, and how

Shred files and folders

Click + Add files or Add folder, or drag items onto the list, then press Shred permanently. In testing, a folder of 20,000 files went through in one run without a crash. Windows, Program Files and ProgramData are refused, so a slip of the mouse can't break the system.

Wipe free space

Overwrites the empty part of a drive, where deleted files still sit, and leaves your current files where they are. Useful on a data disk that saw years of deletes. Works on every non-system drive, USB ones included.

Erase an entire volume

Clears a non-system partition or a whole secondary drive, sector by sector from start to end. The Erase entire volume button stays grey until you tick "I understand this erases everything on the selected volume". The system drive appears in the list but can't be picked, because Windows can't erase the drive it runs from.

Knows an HDD from an SSD

File Shredder - Disk Wipe Software checks each drive's type before it writes: rotating disk, SSD or removable flash. On a hard drive it confirms that overwriting destroys the old data. On SSD and flash it says the opposite in plain words and points you to the device's built-in Secure Erase or NVMe Sanitize.

Verify after erasing

On shred jobs, tick Verify after erasing and the app rereads every byte from the drive through a fresh, uncached handle to check the new pattern is really there. Anything that doesn't match is counted as not erased.

Clean traces

Clean now clears Temp folders, the Recycle Bin, recent documents and jump lists, plus browsing history in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi. Saved passwords and cookies stay. If a browser is open, the report names it instead of skipping it quietly.

Also inside

Certificate on by defaultPRO
Default method in Settings
Unreadable sectors skipped and logged
Locked files reported
Pass-by-pass progress
Send log to support
Cancel a running job
Interface language switch

Remote Wipe for a lost or stolen laptop

Connect the app to a Telegram bot you create yourself. Paste the bot token and your chat ID, press Test connection, then add the folders to protect. From any phone, /status tells you the PC is online and how many folders are set to wipe. /wipe erases those folders and replies with the number of items erased.

Remote Wipe is off until you switch it on. The bot answers only your chat ID, and the sender is checked before any message text is read. You can also require a password for /wipe in case your Telegram account is ever compromised. The token is stored encrypted with Windows DPAPI on that PC only. The command reaches the laptop only while it is online.

Remote Wipe screen with protected folders and Telegram connection status.
   
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How to download and use the File Shredder - Disk Wipe Software

Download and install.
1

Download and install

Download the File Shredder - Disk Wipe Software and run the installer on Windows 11 or 10. The home screen asks one question: what do you want to erase?

Pick what to erase.
2

Pick what to erase

Open Shred files and folders, Wipe free space, Wipe drive / volume or Clean traces. To wipe a hard drive other than the Windows one, pick Wipe drive / volume. Add items with + Add files or drop them on the list.

Choose a method.
3

Choose a method

Keep the default method or open Advanced for 14 more standards. Tick Verify after erasing and Save PDF certificate if you need proof.

Shred and keep the report.
4

Shred and keep the report

Press Shred permanently and confirm. The done screen shows passes, elapsed time and any errors. Save PDF stores the certificate wherever you want it.

16 erasure methods, grouped by passes

Each method writes a known pattern over what was there. Zeroes and Random work in the free version. The other 14 come with the full license.

Zeroes

Writes 0x00 over every byte. The fastest option on any drive.

1 pass

Random

Random bytes instead of zeros, so the result looks like noise and not a blank drive.

1 pass

GOST R 50739-95

Russian government data-protection standard from 1995. Runs as a single pass here.

1 pass

NIST 800-88 Clear

The Clear level of NIST SP 800-88, the US guideline most IT policies quote today. One pass of a fixed pattern.

1 pass

HMG IS5 Baseline

British government Infosec Standard 5 at baseline level. One pass of zeros.

1 pass

Which one to pick?

For a modern hard drive one pass is enough. NIST's 2014 guidance said a single overwrite with zeros typically defeats even lab recovery. Take a named standard when a policy or a client asks for it. On SSD and flash, stay with one pass.

DoD 5220.22-M

The best-known name in the field, from the US Department of Defense operating manual. Writes 0x00, then 0xFF, then random data.

3 passes

DoD 5220.28-STD

The longer US Defense preset, for policies that ask for more than the 3-pass version.

7 passes

US Army AR380-19

From US Army regulation 380-19. Random data first, then a fixed byte (0x55) and its complement (0xAA).

3 passes

US Air Force 5020

The US Air Force 5020 overwrite preset, for contracts that name it.

3 passes

German VSITR

German BSI standard from 1999. Six passes alternate 0x00 and 0xFF, the last one writes 0xAA.

7 passes

HMG IS5 Enhanced

British Infosec Standard 5 at enhanced level. Zeros first, ones (0xFF) second, random data last.

3 passes

NATO standard

The NATO seven-pass overwrite, for policies that list it by name.

7 passes

Bruce Schneier

Described by cryptographer Bruce Schneier in 1996. Two fixed passes of 0xFF and 0x00, then five of random data.

7 passes

Which one to pick?

For a modern hard drive one pass is enough. NIST's 2014 guidance said a single overwrite with zeros typically defeats even lab recovery. Take a named standard when a policy or a client asks for it. On SSD and flash, stay with one pass.

Peter Gutmann

Designed in 1996 for old MFM and RLL drives, with 35 different patterns. Gutmann himself later wrote that people treat the full 35-pass run like a voodoo incantation.

35 passes

Pfitzner

Pick it when a policy asks for Pfitzner by name. On a modern disk it mostly adds hours.

33 passes

Custom

Set your own pattern and the number of passes.

You choose

Which one to pick?

For a modern hard drive one pass is enough. NIST's 2014 guidance said a single overwrite with zeros typically defeats even lab recovery. Take a named standard when a policy or a client asks for it. On SSD and flash, stay with one pass.

With Verify after erasing on, the shredder adds one zero pass at the end of any method. That way the result can be checked even when a standard like DoD 5220.22-M or Gutmann ends on random data. The certificate records the real count.

Drives it works with

Internal hard drives (HDD)
SSD and NVMe drives
USB flash drives
SD and memory cards
External USB hard drives
File Shredder - Disk Wipe Software
File Shredder - Disk Wipe SoftwareDownload the File Shredder - Disk Wipe Software and give it one free run on the files nobody should recover.
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Who needs File Shredder - Disk Wipe Software

People selling a used PC
IT technicians refurbishing laptops
Small business owners
Accountants and bookkeepers
Lawyers and paralegals
Photographers with client shoots
PC builders reselling drives
Privacy-minded home users

When people reach for it

Donating an old PC.

Donating an old PC

It leaves for a school or a charity, and you will never see it again, along with every file still on it.

Returning a work or leased laptop.

Returning a work or leased laptop

Years of personal files end up on a company machine. Shred them before it goes back to IT or the leasing firm.

Retiring an old backup disk.

Retiring an old backup disk

That one in the drawer with old tax scans. Clear it completely, then send it to recycling.

Left in a taxi.
Remote Wipe

Left in a taxi

The bag is gone and the car has driven off. The client files on that laptop are the one part of the loss you can still act on, if you set it up before the trip.

Free and full version

Try the basic job once before you buy.

FeatureFreeOne run to try itFull versionAll methods, unlimited runs
Shred files and folders✓✓
Clean traces✓✓
Erase runs1Unlimited
Zeroes and Random, 1 pass✓✓
DoD, Gutmann, NIST and 11 other standards✗✓
Wipe free space✗✓
Erase entire volume✗✓
Remote Wipe via Telegram✗✓
PDF erasure certificate✗✓
With a license key, new jobs start on DoD 5220.22-M (3 passes). Settings lets you make any other method the default.
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From $ 19.99
  Buy now
From $ 19.99
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With a license key, new jobs start on DoD 5220.22-M (3 passes). Settings lets you make any other method the default.

File Shredder - Disk Wipe Software
File Shredder - Disk Wipe Software
Price
from $ 19.99 / month
Version
3.6
File Size
15 Mb
Last updated on
14/08/26
Free version: one erase run with a single-pass method
System Requirements
  • Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 (32/64 bit)
  • Intel i3, AMD Ryzen 5 or above
  • 4 GB of RAM or above
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® series 8 and 8M, Intel® HD Graphics 2000, Quadro FX 4800, Quadro FX 5600, AMD Radeon™ R600, Mobility Radeon™ HD 4330, Mobility FirePro™ series, Radeon™ R5 M230 or higher graphics card with up-to-date drivers
  • 1280 × 768 screen resolution, 32-bit color
  • 1 GB of free hard disk space or above

Frequently Asked Questions

On a hard drive, yes. Shredding writes new data over the sectors a file used, so recovery software reads the pattern instead of your document. SSDs are a different story, covered two questions down.

Usually not. Deleting partitions from install media or a quick reset removes the file table, while most of what was written stays readable. The Windows reset option that also cleans the drive is slower and more thorough. If you want to sell the PC with Windows on it, shred your own folders and erase any second drive. Wiping the Windows drive itself needs boot media, which this version does not include.

Short answer: not reliably, and the app tells you so before it starts. Long answer: SSDs spread writes across cells (wear leveling), and TRIM clears deleted blocks on the drive's own schedule. So an overwrite can land on different cells than the ones holding your file. For a whole SSD, the maker's Secure Erase or NVMe Sanitize is the reliable route. That firmware command marks every cell empty and even brings back factory write speed.

Yes, DoD 5220.22-M (3 passes) and DoD 5220.28-STD (7 passes) are both in the full version. Whether you need them is another matter. Many admins see the old DoD label as outdated, and NIST's 2014 guidance already treated one pass as enough for magnetic disks. Use DoD when a contract or a policy names it.

Run Wipe free space on the drive where they were, then Clean traces for browser history and temp files. This version has two limits. The drive Windows boots from is not offered for free-space wipe, and shadow copies stay as they are, same for the pagefile and hiberfil.sys.

Secure Erase and NVMe Sanitize run inside the SSD's firmware, so the drive sets the clock, not this app. On many SSDs it is a matter of minutes, and how full the drive is barely matters. A software overwrite scales differently. Time grows with size and with every pass: a 3-pass DoD run takes about three times as long as one pass of zeros, and Gutmann's 35 passes about 35 times. When shredding files, Verify after erasing roughly doubles the total. For a big hard drive, one pass is the practical choice.

Yes, with the PDF certificate in the full version. After a job the app writes a Certificate of Data Erasure that records which method ran on which target, plus the verification result. It is a record produced by the software itself, not an audit by a third party. For a small office or a private sale, that is usually the paper people ask for.

It runs through a Telegram bot that you create, and it obeys only your chat ID. A stranger who finds the bot gets no reply at all. It erases only folders you marked yourself, on your own PC, and never runs until you turn it on.

One full erase run. Shred any number of files and folders, or run Clean traces, with the Zeroes or Random single-pass method. After that run the app asks for a license key, and the full version lifts the limit together with everything marked in the table above.

Short answer: on a hard drive, overwrite them before the entry is removed. Long answer: to delete files permanently, add them to Shred files and folders and press Shred permanently. For files you already deleted the usual way, run Wipe free space on that drive (any drive except the Windows one). On an SSD or a flash drive no overwrite can promise the old cells are gone, so for a whole SSD use its Secure Erase instead.

Rate File Shredder - Disk Wipe Software

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Author: SoftOrbits (English)
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Avg. rating: 4.5 from 850 votes
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Desktop software for Windows