Active ZDelete 4.1

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: CNET Staff

Those this application provides a decent set of privacy tools, we must voice some concern about its interface and performance. Configuring Active ZDelete is rather simple, as the program walks you through the process via a wizard. At the end of the wizard, we clicked Finish, which we expected would purge our PC of the selected items. However, to actually clean anything, we either had to go back to the first window and press Run, or we had to activate the Auto Cleaner from the Start menu. We really think the interface should be better integrated. The program wipes away your Web-surfing history by deleting such items as cookies, typed URLs, and temporary files, although it only works with Internet Explorer. Active ZDelete also can clean tracks from several Windows system areas, but it doesn't support third-party applications, such as IM or P2P clients. We did appreciate the inclusion of a scheduler and a secure file shredder, the latter of which can delete files, folders, and Web tracks via one of 13 secure algorithms. The application provides a pop-up blocker, but in our tests, it exhibited miserable performance, failing to kill most of the ads we tossed at it. Therefore, we'd guess most users would opt out of this feature during installation. Active ZDelete is on the right track, but it could really use an improved design, as well as support for more browsers and third-pary programs.

Publisher's description

From LSoft Technologies :

ZDelete is an eraser and cleanup utility that allows the elimination of selected files, folders, and subfolders, as well as Internet browser cache, surfing histories, and cookies. The files will be deleted without any possibility of subsequent data recovery. The integrated Disk Wiper can also wipe the free space on the specified drive so that recovery of files deleted previously becomes impossible. When you initially start the program, you create a profile that tells ZDelete which files you want to delete (including custom options) and then run the Auto-Cleaner each time you want to destroy the selected files. In addition, you can use the built-in scheduler to automate this task or also the console version for more advanced users. The program also integrates with Windows Explorer's right click menu. ZDelete works with any file system, including NTFS. ZDelete conforms to the U.S. Department of Defense standard DoD 5220.22-M.

Version 4.1 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.

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