# Anyone use Shredders? What does Delete Allocated Free Space mean in Shredders?



## RipnDip (Mar 14, 2009)

That's my question. There is a delete allocated free space box in Tuneup Utilities 2007 and I would like to know what it does when I shred an item. Does it delete the space that file took up forever along with the file? Please put it simply.

Also, can we discuss the different shredding methods. Maybe this can be added to another thread with information like this.


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## 1002richards (Jan 29, 2006)

Hi,
I've been using Ersaer (link below) for a while. The following snippets are from the website and I think they go some way to answering your questions:
"Why use Eraser?
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Most people have some data that they would rather not share with others - passwords, personal information, classified documents from work, financial records, self-written poems, the list can be continued forever.
Perhaps you have saved some of this information on your computer where it is conveniently at your reach, but when the time comes to remove the data from your hard disk, things get a bit more complicated and maintaining your privacy is not as simple as it may have seemed at first.
Your first thought may be that when you 'delete' the file, the data is gone. Not quite, when you delete a file, the operating system does not really remove the file from the disk; it only removes the reference of the file from the file system table. The file remains on the disk until another file is created over it, and even after that, it might be possible to recover data by studying the magnetic fields on the disk platter surface.
Before the file is overwritten, anyone can easily retrieve it with a disk maintenance or an undelete utility.
There are several problems in secure file removal, mostly caused by the use of write cache, construction of the hard disk and the use of data encoding. These problems have been taken into consideration when Eraser was designed, and because of this intuitive design and a simple user interface, you can safely and easily erase private data from your hard drive."
"Eraser Features
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Works with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP (32/64),Vista (32/64), Windows Server 2003 and DOS. It works with any drive including IDE, SCSI and RAID, and CD-RW's.
Uses the Guttmann (Default), Pseudorandom Data and US DoD 5220-22.M methods. 
Erases Files and Folders.
Erases Files/Folders that were only previously 'deleted'. 
Erases all hard drives using 'Darik's Boot and Nuke' method. 
Erases Index.dat on Reboot 
Erases Encrypted Files and Drives. 
Erases FreeSpace on 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP and DOS. 
Erases contents of the Recycle Bin.
Erases Compressed Files and Drives.
Erases Network Files, Floppy Disks, CD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW.
Erases Windows Temporary Files.
Erases Internet Cookies.
Erases Paging (swap) file.
Erases Internet Cache.
Appears as an 'Erase' option on the Context Menu of Windows Explorer and Recycle Bin.
Comes with an Eraser Scheduler that allows you to create user-defined tasks.
Defeats File Recovery software applications Hardware tools.
Supports FAT32 and NTFS Files Systems.
Eraser is easy to use and comes with a dedicated support network."
http://www.heidi.ie/node/6


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## RipnDip (Mar 14, 2009)

AH, that's very useful information. It doesn't quite answer my original question though.

There is a particular option in Tuneup Utilities Shredder to delete allocated free space. I contacted the developers but I gave up due to poor customer support.


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## Calabrese (Mar 25, 2009)

As far as I can tell from what I've read, I've never personally used that program but my guess is it's something similar to zero fill. When you delete something like menetioned before its not really gone, and information is written in 0's and 1's on a computer. What I *think* it will do is write over your free space with 1's and 0's to erase the data. It basically writes over your free space ensuring that whatever was allocated in your free space is permanently gone.

I hope that helps, if not I'll try to explain it a little better lol


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## RipnDip (Mar 14, 2009)

I think you hit the nail on the head. After some trial and error that's the best conclusion I can come to. If I just shred it, the space is not retrieved. Until it is written over manually by filling up the space or to check the box.

Thanks!


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## Calabrese (Mar 25, 2009)

Not a problem guy


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