Data destruction program

The verification piece of any data destruction process cannot be ignored. So how do you make sure that data is completely removed from your IT assets? Your organization must go beyond data destruction and instead focus on data sanitization.

Data sanitization does more than data destruction; the data destruction process is confirmed using recognized verification methods and produces a certified, tamper-proof report. A device or file that has been sanitized has been proven to render the targeted data irrecoverable. For highly sensitive data, sanitization is critical to mitigate the risk of unauthorized data access. There are three methods to achieve data sanitization: physical destruction with verification , cryptographic erasure and data erasure.

Many organizations choose to utilize all three methods, either separately or in combination. Always remember, that to truly destroy data forever and render it unrecoverable, verification and certification is required to achieve data sanitization. View our brief overview of two well-known U. View all use cases. Log into Partner Portal. Step 1. And launch MiniTool Partition Wizard. Step 2. Select the connected external drive and click Wipe Disk option.

Buy Now. Another popular free and open source hard drive data wipe software is DBAN. It also supports several advanced algorithms like DoD Disk Wipe is also a top data removal tool. Disk Wipe is a windows app, so you can only run this tool in the existing Windows operating system. You cannot use it to wipe hard drive which runs the current operating system.

But you can use it to erase internal drive or SSD, external hard drives. It has free version and advanced version. Its free version only has one type of hard drive erasing solution, namely, erase hard drive with one pass zeros. If you want to try other ways to wipe hard drive, you need to pay for the professional version. This cool Windows 10 PC wipe tool also allows you to wipe computer or external drives. You can use it to wipe data from free space on hard drive or wipe the entire drive.

Advanced version also needs to pay. This free disk wiping software enables you to permanently erase all data in the hard drive. It also uses some professional data erasing standards like U. Department of Defense The downside of this tool is that it is also downloaded as an ISO file, and you need to burn it to a disk or USB before you can use it. Aside from the provided data sanitization methods, you are also allowed to create custom erasure method.

This free hard drive data destruction software provides 10 popular data erasure solutions for your choice. It is compatible with Windows XP This free disk wipe software enables you to drag and drop the hard drive into the program, and then choose one data wiping way to completely destruct the data.

This hard drive erasure software offers you several data wipe solutions: DoD You can freely choose to wipe data from free space or all files in the hard drive with this top file eraser. Windows 10 is supported. You can also install a regular application to run KillDisk from within the OS. KillDisk works with both regular hard drives and solid state drives. Unfortunately, some of KillDisk's settings work only in the professional version.

There's also a Linux and Mac version available. Beginning in Windows Vista, the format command was granted the ability to write zeros during the format, giving the command basic data destruction abilities.

Since all Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Vista users already have the format command at their disposal, this is a quick and effective data destruction method. Granted, you won't be able to satisfy some stringent data sanitization standards, but if that's not a concern then this option is perfect. The format command included with Windows XP and prior operating systems does not support this option. However, there is a way to use this method on a computer with Windows XP if you have access to another computer with Windows 11—7.

The instructions linked here explain how to use the format command either as a data destruction tool from a bootable disc, enabling you to completely erase the primary drive, or as a way to erase any other drive from Command Prompt from within Windows. Macrorit Data Wiper is different than the above programs in that it doesn't run from a bootable disc.

Instead, it's a portable program that you must open from your computer like you would a regular program. The program has a very nice look to it and is super easy to use. Just select a hard drive regular or SSD that should be erased and choose a wiping method. Windows is the only supported operating system, and because you have to run Macrorit Data Wiper from the hard drive, you're unable to use it to wipe the primary drive.

Eraser is pretty easy to use and serves as a well-designed data destruction program with some unique features. As far as advanced options go, Eraser wins the data destruction competition hands down. With Eraser, you can schedule data destruction with all the precision you'd expect with any scheduling tool. This program should work with both traditional drives and SSDs.

Because Eraser runs from within Windows, you can not use the program to erase the drive that Windows runs on, usually C. Use a bootable data destruction software program from this list or see How to Format C for other options.

Eraser works in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. Eraser also works on Windows Server through Freeraser, very much unlike some of the other programs on this list, is a full-fledged Windows application, complete with a setup wizard and Start Menu icons. We like Freeraser so much because it's incredibly easy to use.

Freeraser can only delete files from a whole hard drive if it's connected over USB. Internal hard drives are not supported. Freeraser can also be used as a portable program by choosing that option during setup. Freeraser works with Windows 11 through Windows XP. Disk Wipe is a completely portable data destruction tool that you run from within Windows. Disk Wipe is really easy to use because it walks you through a wizard to perform the data wipe.

Because it requires the OS to be running to work, it can't be used to erase the drive you have Windows running on, but it should work just fine for other mechanical and solid state drives. Hardwipe is another data destruction program that runs from inside Windows. You can clean free space or even wipe an entire drive SSD or traditional , so long as it's not your primary drive.

Hardwipe is easy for anyone to use. Just load the drive that should be cleaned and choose a data sanitization method that should be used. Secure Eraser is a software suite that serves not only as a registry cleaner but also as a data destruction tool.

After selecting the drive or partition that should be wiped, just click Start deletion to choose one of the above methods. After Secure Eraser has done its job, you can set it to reboot the computer, exit, or shutdown the computer. Because Secure Eraser runs from within Windows, you can't use it to erase the hard drive that it's installed to like the C drive. Secure Eraser attempts to install another program during setup that you must deselect if you don't want it.

Right-click context menu integration is permitted as well as some unique wiping methods you won't find in many of the other programs listed here. To use PrivaZer to wipe away a whole drive, choose Delete without a trace from the main menu, select Sensitive directories , and choose a hard drive. Because PrivaZer can do many other privacy cleaning tasks like deleting old files and erasing internet activity traces, it can be a confusing process to use just the data wipe feature.

A portable version is also available from the download page. PC Shredder is a small, portable data wipe tool that runs like any other software in Windows. We like that PC Shredder is portable and has a simple interface. This program is primarily used as a disk management program, so finding the data wipe feature among all the other settings can be a little daunting.

Remo Drive Wipe is a nice looking data destruction program that runs inside Windows. You can wipe an entire disk with one of three different sanitization methods. Remo Drive Wipe is a pretty simple program. It walks you through a type of wizard where you select the drive to wipe and then choose a deletion method. We tested it in Windows 8 without any issues. While CCleaner is normally used as a system cleaner to remove temporary Windows files and other internet or cache files, it also contains a tool that can wipe free disk space or completely destroy all the data on a drive.

CCleaner works from within the operating system, so it can't wipe the data off the same drive that Windows is installed to. However, it can wipe the free space of that drive. You can choose more than one drive at once for CCleaner to wipe them all consecutively.

It supports both SSDs and mechanical drives. Once CCleaner is opened, go to the Tools section and then select Drive Wiper to access this data wiping feature.

Be sure to choose Entire Drive from the dropdown menu. The latest version of CCleaner can be installed on Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7, as well as Windows Server and File Shredder is a data destruction tool that can erase a disk full of files by simply adding the drive's contents to the program.

It recognizes both traditional and solid state drives. File Shredder isn't as easy to use as some of these programs because you can't drag the drive itself into the program. Instead, you have to drag and drop all the files and folders you want to delete. However, you can grab the contents from the root of the drive and drop them into File Shredder.

Hard Drive Eraser is a portable program that can wipe all the data off of a secondary hard drive. The program is very easy to use. Just choose the drive, select one of the methods from above, and choose the file system that the drive should end up being. Super File Shredder is easy to use data destruction program that supports drag and drop to quickly delete entire hard drives, both SSDs and traditional hard drives. Just start by choosing a sanitization method from the settings, and then add the entire hard drive to the queue or drag and drop it from Windows Explorer.

Like many of these data destruction programs later in this list, Super File Shredder can only wipe drives other than the one you're using. TweakNow SecureDelete has a nice, clean interface with simple buttons. Like many similar programs from this list, TweakNow SecureDelete lets you drag and drop files and folders directly into the program to remove them.

If you're erasing an entire hard drive, drag everything over, subfolders and all. However, we tested it in Windows 10 and Windows 8 without any issues. MiniTool Drive Wipe is a small, simple program that runs from inside Windows like a regular program. MiniTool Drive Wipe is easy to use. Just select whether you want to wipe a partition or whole disk and then choose a sanitization method.

There aren't any unnecessary tools or settings that can be confusing. You can use this program on both traditional and solid state drives. Windows is also supported. XT File Shredder Lizard is another data destruction program that works in all the newer versions of Windows, like Windows 11 and Windows 10, and probably older ones, too. To wipe a whole hard drive of its data, simply choose to add a folder and then select the root of the drive you wish to securely erase.