Navigation

•  Introducing Recuva
•  Recuva Quick Start
•  Using Recuva
  •  Wizard Mode
  •  Advanced mode
    •  Using Recuva without the wizard
    •  Specifying what to search for
    •  Understanding the advanced Results window
    •  Recovering your files
    •  Securely deleting your files
    •  Recovering deleted emails
  •  Recovering files from damaged or reformatted disks
  •  Checking for Recuva updates
•  Recuva Settings
•  Troubleshooting
•  Technical Information
•  Advanced Usage

Securely deleting your files

Recuva gives you the option of securely deleting files. This is useful if you deleted files using Windows Explorer (an insecure method) and want to ensure that they're wiped from your hard drive for good.

To securely delete files:

1.    Run Recuva in Advanced or in Wizard mode.

2.    In the results window, select the files you want to securely delete.

3.    Right-click the list and click Secure Delete Checked.

4.    You are prompted to confirm the deletion. Click Yes.

Warning: You cannot recover files once they have been securely deleted.

Notes:

• You cannot securely delete recovered emails from the results window. See this topic for more explanation.
• Secure deletion does not overwrite file names, which continue to exist in the MFT (Master File Table). In order to overwrite names of deleted files, please use the Wipe MFT Free Space option in CCleaner.