Hi Techyv Guys,
I have heard that in Linux we will be able to use shred, that not only delete data but also overwrite with random data on the disk. Is there any such command or utility for Windows that can shred a folder from computer, without the help of any other software, If possible, please let me know about how to shred a file or folder using cmd.
Regards, Joseph K Carpenter
Hi Joseph,
There are multiple ways to shred file or folder in the Windows system.
Solution 1: Using the command
1) Quit all the running programs in the system
2) Click 'Start', Click 'Run', type 'cmd'
3) In the command prompt, type 'cipher/w:driveletter:foldername'
4) The files and folder in the system will be shredded using the command
Solution 2: Using the File Shredder tool
1) Download the free file shredder tool from the File Shredder official website
2) It is easy to use and has user friendly program application
3) It supports perceptual data, file and document shredding
4) It deletes unwanted files, folders and provides free space for the user
The command that you can use to delete/shred files:
find –type f –ececdir shred –u –z ‘{}’ ;
– The command 'find' is used to find those files which match an expression.
– –type f, commands 'find' to match only files which are regular.
– The –execdir tells find to execute the command following the argument on every file which has been matched.
– The remaining arguments are taken as the commands to execute, until a terminating ’;’ character is encountered.
– We tell find to execute the shred command on each file matched.
– The –u option is to remove the file after shredding.
– Find replaces the ‘{}’ string with the current file name being processed.
– Finally, a semi-colon removes the –execdir command.
There are some other softwares that will help you erase/shred your HDD easily.
