FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT NSHRED

Why just deleting is not enough?

When you delete a file or a folder in WindowsTM it is not actually erased. Simply, the hard disk descriptor table is updated and the file entry is removed. So, the actual bytes of the file remain on the disk. Even when the file area is overwritten, it is still possibile to recover data, by applying certain laboratory procedures since it's rare that a portion of the hard disk is rewritten more than 5/10 times. It has been calculated that information is completely unrecoverable only after more than 30 rewrites.

How can NShred effectively destroy any data?

NShred detects the file area on the hard disk or other drive. This area includes metadata on file, such as name and date. The area is then rewritten 'n' times depending on the procedure. For instance, with DOD algorithm, the file area is rewritten first with "0" bit, then with "1" bit, then with a random byte. After rewriting, the file area is reduced to zero, the file renamed with random characters and finally deleted. This procedure guarantees that not even a single byte from the former file can ever be retrieved.

What does it mean "shredding" applied to PC folders and files?

Shredding, also known as "Data erasure" is a method of software-based overwriting that completely destroys all electronic data residing on a hard drive or other digital media. Permanent data erasure goes beyond basic file deletion commands, which only remove direct pointers to data disk sectors and make data recovery possible with common software tools. Unlike degaussing or physical destruction, which render the disk unusable, data erasure removes all information while leaving the disk operable, preserving assets and the environment.
Software-based overwriting uses a software application to write patterns of meaningless data onto each of a hard drive's sectors.

Why NShred is different from other shredding tools?

While the majority of shredding tools are "brute force" and "operating system agnostic" erasing tools, NShred behaves accordingly to the underlying Operating System (OS), denying the user the possibility to turn it unstable. For instance, if the OS denies a delete operation, NShred will NOT erase the file. The user will be able to erase it later when it is no more locked by the OS.
Plus, NShred is a .NET Framework Smart Client application, which ensure the user with a superior robustness and full compatibility and integration with the latest Microsoft Operating Systems and tools.