Secure file deletion

[craigathus]

After selecting a bunch of picture files "JPG's" to be copied to CD, and successfully burning them to a CD, I realised that I could fit more on that disk.

I selected 3 more pic's, "Windows" warns me that there isn't enough space left on that disk...

I have 2 options...

Insert a new blank CD, or delete the copies from the "Staging area"

I delete the 3 files "copies" of the original pic's from the "Staging area"

Later I use CCleaner with "Secure file deletion" selected and the "Recycle bin" is emptied.

Then I found that the 3 original pictures "JPG's" in "My Pictures" folder don't have thumbnail preview like all the others? and no program can open them?

I still had the pic's on my camera so all was not lost:)

I retraced all my steps and have found that my problem only occurs when using CCleaner with "Secure file deletion" selected?

Every things fine when using "Normal file deletion"?

 

CCleaner v2.17.853

[Robbie]

I had this exact same problem when I burned some files to disk and discarded some of the files to the recycle bin then ran a secure delete on the recycle bin using Eraser. The original files in my music folder were destroyed and the files were 0kb in size.

 

It appears to be a quirk of the Windows operating system. When files are sent to be copied to a disk and then are sent to the recycle bin the recycle bin contains a shortcut to the original location of the file and securely deleting the file deletes the original. Deleting the files using Recycle Bin's usual deletion method just deletes the shortcut and leaves the original files untouched. The only solution is to never run a secure delete on the Recycle Bin when you have files in there that have been sent to be burned to disk but which are then deleted to the Recycle Bin.

 

See my posts at the Eraser forums about this very problem:

 

http://bbs.heidi.ie/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=988

 

(my link in the post in the above no longer works and I can't find my original post anymore)

 

http://bbs.heidi.ie/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1654