McAfee Privacy Service
98
McAfee
®
Internet Security Suite
®
software
Why Windows leaves file remnants
To permanently delete a file, you must repeatedly overwrite the existing file with
new data. If Microsoft Windows securely deleted files, every file operation would
be very slow. Shredding a document does not always prevent that document from
being recovered because some programs make temporary hidden copies of open
documents. If you only shred documents that you see in Explorer, you could still
have temporary copies of those documents. We recommend that you periodically
shred the free space on your disk drive to insure that these temporary copies are
permanently deleted.
NOTE
With computer forensics tools, tax records, job resumes, or
other documents that you had deleted, could be obtained.
What McAfee Shredder erases
With McAfee Shredder, you can securely and permanently erase:
One or more files or folders
An entire disk
The trails that your web surfing leaves behind
Permanently erasing files in Windows Explorer
To shred a file via Windows Explorer:
1
Open Windows Explorer, then select the file or files that you want to shred.
2
Right-click your selection, point to
Send To
, and then select
McAfee Shredder
.
Emptying the Windows Recycle Bin
If files are in your Recycle Bin, McAfee Shredder offers a more secure method of
emptying your Recycle Bin.
To shred the contents of the Recycle Bin:
1
On your Windows desktop, right-click the Recycle Bin.
2
Select
Shred Recycle Bin
, then follow the on-screen instructions.
Customizing Shredder settings
You can:
Specify the number of shredding passes.
Show a warning message when you shred files.
Check your hard disk for errors before shredding.
