- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows Vista, Windows 95, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows 98
- Date added: June 10, 2009
- Total Downloads: 712,723
- Downloads last week: 3,147
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 186 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: CNET Staff
A few minor complaints aside, this free file shredder is by and large a solid find. Eraser's all-business interface won't win any design awards, but it's mostly convenient to use, allowing you to add files or folders to be deleted via drag-and-drop transfers. However, since the program lacks a dedicate deletion button or icon, you'll have to dig through the menu items to actually erase data. This misstep is somewhat negated by the fact that Eraser integrates into the Windows' context menu, letting you shred files via a right click. We're glad to see the program lets you choose from four secure government-sanctioned deletion algorithms, and we appreciate the inclusion of a scheduler, handy for routinely wiping free disk space. In our tests, Eraser got rid of a 1GB file in 10 minutes--impressive, considering we employed the most secure deletion method. Anyone seeking to eradicate documents for good should take a long look at this freebie.Publisher's description
From Heidi Computers :Eraser is an advanced security tool for Windows that allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns. The patterns used for overwriting are based on Peter Gutmann's paper Secure Deletion of Data from Magnetic and Solid-State Memory and are selected to effectively remove magnetic remnants from the hard drive.
Other methods include the one defined in the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual of the U.S. Department of Defence, and overwriting with pseudorandom data. You can also define your own overwriting methods.
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 4.1 stars out of 186 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 17 user reviewsSee all 17 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
Version: Eraser 5.87
Pros: easy to use. drag and drop. complete cleaning.
Cons: it does take some time for deep roots, but worth it to clean all files. best to run this at night or when computer is not in use.
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Eraser 5.87
"works great, easy to use, I'm glad I found it here."
Pros: completely erases the files
Cons: no problems
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Version: Eraser 5.87
Pros: Thoroughness
Cons: Sometimes slow, but this is necessary for large file erasure with Guttman setting
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Version: Eraser 5.87
Pros: Easy access. Quick
Cons: None that I've found
Summary: I've been using Eraser for several years. The install was painless. I use it from the "right-click" menu. I usethe "Gutmann" level and it works efficiently and quickly. Great little program and the price (free) is superb. Thanks
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Version: Eraser 5.87
Pros: Really easy to use. Simple interface, easy to understand and configure
Cons: When you are erasing it takes up a lot of cpu. It does lock up the computer from time to time and really slows down anything else your doing.
Summary: One of my most used products. It has been improving through the years. I like the fact that you can right click and erase with many different options. Real simple to use. Let us not forget-It's Free
- See all 17 user reviews Write review
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