McAfee Shredder

McAfee Shredder deletes (or shreds) items permanently from your computer's hard drive. Even when you manually delete files and folders, empty your Recycle Bin, or delete your Temporary Internet Files folder, you can still recover this information using computer forensic tools. As well, a deleted file can be recovered because some programs make temporary, hidden copies of open files. Shredder protects your privacy by safely and permanently deleting these unwanted files. It's important to remember that shredded files cannot be restored.

Note: SecurityCenter reports critical and non-critical protection problems as soon as it detects them. If you need help diagnosing your protection problems, you can run McAfee Virtual Technician.

In this chapter Shredder features Shredding files, folders, and disks

Shredder features

Shredder deletes items from your computer's hard drive so that their associated information cannot be recovered. It protects your privacy by safely and permanently deleting files and folders, items in your Recycle Bin and Temporary Internet Files folder, and the entire contents of computer disks, such as rewriteable CDs, external hard drives, and floppy disks.

Shredding files, folders, and disks

Shredder ensures that the information contained in deleted files and folders in your Recycle Bin and in your Temporary Internet Files folder cannot be recovered, even with special tools. With Shredder, you can specify how many times (up to 10) you want an item to be shredded. A higher number of shredding passes increases your level of secure file deletion.

In this section Shred files and folders Shred an entire disk

Shred files and folders

You can shred files and folders from your computer's hard drive, including items in your Recycle Bin and in your Temporary Internet Files folder.

1. Open Shredder.

   How?

   1. On the McAfee SecurityCenter pane, under Common Tasks, click Advanced Menu.
      
   2. On the left pane, click Tools.
      
   3. Click Shredder.
      
2. On the Shred files and folders pane, under I want to, click Erase files and folders.
3. Under Shredding Level, click one of the following shredding levels:
   • Quick: Shreds the selected item(s) once.
   • Comprehensive: Shreds the selected item(s) 7 times.
   • Custom: Shreds the selected item(s) up to 10 times.
4. Click Next.
5. Do one of the following:
   • In the Select file(s) to shred list, click either Recycle Bin contents or Temporary Internet files.
   • Click Browse, navigate to the file that you want to shred, select it, and then click Open.
6. Click Next.
7. Click Start.
8. When Shredder finishes, click Done.

Note: Do not work with any files until Shredder has completed the task.

Shred an entire disk

You can shred the entire contents of a disk at once. Only removable drives, such as external hard drives, writeable CDs, and floppy disks can be shredded.

1. Open Shredder.

   How?

   1. On the McAfee SecurityCenter pane, under Common Tasks, click Advanced Menu.
      
   2. On the left pane, click Tools.
      
   3. Click Shredder.
      
2. On the Shred files and folders pane, under I want to, click Erase an entire disk.
3. Under Shredding Level, click one of the following shredding levels:
   • Quick: Shreds the selected drive once.
   • Comprehensive: Shreds the selected drive 7 times.
   • Custom: Shreds the selected drive up to 10 times.
4. Click Next.
5. In the Select the disk list, click the drive that you want to shred.
6. Click Next, and then click Yes to confirm.
7. Click Start.
8. When Shredder finishes, click Done.

Note: Do not work with any files until Shredder has completed the task.