wipefreespace Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 What I would like to see in CCleaner is a utility to wipe the free space in a drive. I have been looking for this extra feature in freeware and at the moment use Webroot Window Washer instead. A really good cleaner should have a fast wipe free space function. HDCleaner has wipe free space but its other features are not as good as CCleaner and it is not as easy to use. Please see if the developers could add wipe free space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krit86lr Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 I really like that idea! Windows Pro Media 8.1 x64 | 8GB Ram | 500G HDD 7200 RPM | All that I know about my graphics is that it's Intel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 Eraser by Heidi has this feature and is a perfect companion to CCleaner. It is also freeware: http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/ make sure you download the latest build, 5.82 as that is trouble free (5.81 was a problematic build). Personally, while I would welcome an all-in-one solution, I think that adding too many features to CCleaner would ruin its simplicity of use. Additionally, I think it may be hard to beat Eraser - it is very good at the job it does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krit86lr Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 I think that adding too many features to CCleaner would ruin its simplicity of use. Additionally, I think it may be hard to beat Eraser. Hmmmm, maybe. But I have faith in MrG. He could do it. Windows Pro Media 8.1 x64 | 8GB Ram | 500G HDD 7200 RPM | All that I know about my graphics is that it's Intel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sputnik Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 I really like that idea! Great idea. Though, for simplicity's sake, it could also be implemented as a kind of stand-alone application (besides CCleaner and Recuva) Ceci n'est pas une signature Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 Great idea. Though, for simplicity's sake, it could also be implemented as a kind of stand-alone application (besides CCleaner and Recuva) ... or like Restoration (by Brian Kato), include the file shredder with the recovery app in Recuva. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 wipefreespace wrote: What I would like to see in CCleaner is a utility to wipe the free space in a drive. I have been looking for this extra feature in freeware and at the moment use Webroot Window Washer instead. Have you ever asked yourself the question why you need wiping the actual HardDisk in use? It is nonsense to do so, because you?ll never be able to completely wipe all of your user-traces out of an actual HD in use. What is OK for legal Web-Interactions. I repeat - I am talking about a HD that is integrated in a System. Think over where exactly you want to wipe it and if it is necessary - as wiping is also quite time-consuming. Just wipe any HD you want to give away - but asking for an integrated application to wipe any HD that is still in permanent and continuously use of your System is nonsense, because you won?t be able to obtain "virgin snow" - no matter what you intend to do with it. Oliver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wipefreespace Posted February 15, 2007 Author Share Posted February 15, 2007 Interesting. It is true that after you have wiped the free space, once you use your pc again, the free space will become occupied to some extent, but this can be minimized by regular wiping. Using Webroot Window Washer to wipe the free space, the first time you do it all 100 % of the free space is wiped. But next time you wipe the free space, it only wipes about 20 % as the rest is still unoccupied after the initial wiping. The original wipe can take about 10 minutes on a small 20 gb hard drive, but the subsequent wipes of the 20 % or so re-occupied space will only take about 2 minutes. Keeping the free space as empty as possible should speed up the pc and also limit any security risk from info contained in the free space. What would be ideal is a wiping function with a scheduler. Eraser does have this, but compared to Window Washer (which does not have a scheduler for wiping the free space) it is quite slow. The actual CCleaner cleaner and Issues fixer are really fast compared to most other programs, so I expect a Wipe Free Space function would be equally fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Interesting. It is true that after you have wiped the free space, once you use your pc again, the free space will become occupied to some extent, but this can be minimized by regular wiping. Using Webroot Window Washer to wipe the free space, the first time you do it all 100 % of the free space is wiped. But next time you wipe the free space, it only wipes about 20 % as the rest is still unoccupied after the initial wiping. The original wipe can take about 10 minutes on a small 20 gb hard drive, but the subsequent wipes of the 20 % or so re-occupied space will only take about 2 minutes. Keeping the free space as empty as possible should speed up the pc and also limit any security risk from info contained in the free space. What would be ideal is a wiping function with a scheduler. Eraser does have this, but compared to Window Washer (which does not have a scheduler for wiping the free space) it is quite slow. The actual CCleaner cleaner and Issues fixer are really fast compared to most other programs, so I expect a Wipe Free Space function would be equally fast. Eraser is slow because it wipes ALL the free space, every time it does a free space wipe. Any program that just wipes, say 20% because it has already has wiped the other 80% and which is still unused, must be very trusting of itself. How can it possibly know that it isn't leaving some deleted files untouched? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberdyne Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 Eraser is slow because it wipes ALL the free space, every time it does a free space wipe. Any program that just wipes, say 20% because it has already has wiped the other 80% and which is still unused, must be very trusting of itself. How can it possibly know that it isn't leaving some deleted files untouched? I believe wiping the free space removes items such as any WinXP System Restore points. Does anyone know of any other minor issues which wiping free space causes. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Andavari Posted February 23, 2007 Moderators Share Posted February 23, 2007 I believe wiping the free space removes items such as any WinXP System Restore points. I've never seen that happen on my system using Eraser. But then again I'm not uber paranoid to even wipe the free space whilst I own a PC, however if I were to get a new PC and thought about donating my current PC to a church or selling it I would instead just use DBAN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators TwistedMetal Posted February 23, 2007 Moderators Share Posted February 23, 2007 I'm not 100% sure if this feature will ever be in CCleaner. It has never been brought up or discussed. CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less that a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware! Secure Deletion is probably as far as it will ever go. Wiping free space takes time and CCleaner is all about speed. If you wipe your free space all the time, then I have this to say. Stop doing illegal stuff and being paranoid of getting caught. Other than that there is no reason to run it all the time, all it does is put wear, and tear on your HD. Use Eraser, that's the only program I will ever use. I usually wipe free space every 3 months or so, why? Just do it, there's no other reason than that. Your Friendly Neighborhood Piriform Forum Moderator Quick Links: CCleaner Products | CCleaner Documentation | Knowledge Center | Downloads | Lost License Key Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDPower Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 I'm not 100% sure if this feature will ever be in CCleaner. Personally I hope not, doesn't fit CCleaners purpose (IMO). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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