When Windows 'deletes' a file it does not actually
destroy the contents of the file but rather simply
unlinks the file from the file directory system,
leaving the contents of the file in the disk sectors.
This data will remain there until the operating system
uses those sectors when writing new data. Until the old
data is overwritten (and this may take months or
longer) it can be recovered by programs that read disk
sectors directly, such as forensic software (so called
because it is used to obtain evidence in criminal
investigations and also in legal discovery).

In order to be sure that a deleted file really is
deleted, gone for good, its contents never to be seen
again, it is necessary to overwrite the data sectors of
that file. Data Destroyer purges data in files, where
'purge' means to destroy, to eliminate completely by
overwriting, so that the data cannot be recovered by
any means. Data Destroyer allows you to destroy the
contents of a file by overwriting it several times (or
many times) with random bytes, and with bytes with
alternating bit patterns, before the file is deleted
(i.e., unlinked).

Data Destroyer can purge either: (a) a single file, (b)
all files in a folder, (c) a specified subset of files
in a folder, (d) all files in a folder and all files in
all subfolders of that folder, (e) a specified subset
of all files in a folder and in all subfolders of that
folder, (f) all space on a disk and (g) all unused
clusters on a disk.

This software checks for possible errors in user input,
and is designed to minimize the chance of accidentally
purging a file that you wish to keep.

Another feature of Data Destroyer is that you can get
an accurate estimate of the time required to perform a
purge operation. A lengthy purge operation may require
several hours, or even days, and if you did not have an
accurate estimate of the time needed before beginning
the operation you might get worried, not knowing how
long it still has to run.

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