Although there are several free software available which can securely wipe out the hard drive, xShredder is one open source app we will be using.

If you are running xShredder on Windows Vista or Windows 7, you will need to run it with administrative privileges. Otherwise it will give an error.

To run xShredder with administrative privileges, just right click on xShredder shortcut on Desktop and select “Run as administrator”.

The first thing you will notice while running xShredder for the first time is that it is in Dutch language by default. You can change the language by going to “Options -> Language (Optionen -> Language, Sprache)”.

There are four tabs on the main interface of xShredder.

1. Saved erase jobs
2. Filemanager
3. Disk Shredder
4. Tools

Saved erase jobs contains all the jobs that you have created. You can run xShredder wizard in order to create a new job or just press “Ctrl + N” to create a new job directly. The steps to securely erase a file using xShredder are a little complex and confusing. So I am giving a step by step process of erasing one file securely. You can apply the same method to securely delete multiple files, folders or even drives.

1. Download xShredder, install it and run with administrative privileges.
2. Create a new erase job by pressing “Ctrl + N” in the Saved erase jobs tab.



3. A new window will appear with two tabs – Filemanager and Deletion request. First go to “Shredder -> Options” in the menu and select the deletion method. There are several deletion methods supported by xShredder including simple method which overwrites data only one time to Peter Gutmann method which overwrites data 35 times (obviously taking more time).



4. Under Filemanager, select the file or folder you want to securely delete. Right click the file and select Paste in deletion request -> Paste selected object (s). If you want to select all the files, select “Insert all files and folders”. Please note that if you want to browse different drives, just press F5 and you will a list of all your drives in the computer.



5. Choose all the files that you want to securely delete and keep repeating step no. 3.
6. After you have selected all the files, open the second tab “Deletion request” and press “Ctrl + S” to save the deletion request that you have just created.
7. Now close the deletion request window and go to the main xShredder window. You will see that the newly created deletion request has been added to Saved erase jobs tab. You can start the erase job by right clicking and selecting “Start erase job” or simply pressing “Ctrl + E”. After confirmation, the erase job will start and will take some time depending upon the deletion method and the size of files to be deleted.

Although xShredder is a complex program but once you start using it, you’ll start loving it. The greatest feature of xShredder is the number of deletion methods that it supports. What are your thoughts about this free software?

You may also consider reading how to delete files securely in Ubuntu Linux and deleting files on a Mac.

Image credit: Businessman by Big Stock Photo.

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While the appearance of the trash can in Mac OS has greatly changed over the years, from a crudely drawn trash can to a vibrant wire mesh can filled with crumpled paper, the actual function hasn’t changed at all. It’s still simply a vessel that’s used to transport the files from your hard drive to being deleted.

To understand which trash option you should choose takes a basic understanding of how files are stored on the Mac. Files are stored in chunks throughout the hard drive. Many times people delete files simply to free up more space on the hard drive. It improves performance, because if you’re running out of room, the files sometimes need to be saved in pieces just to get it to fit. Even if the files are sitting in the trash can, they’re still occupying those chunks of your hard drive; just moving them into the trash can doesn’t free up space at all.

If you choose the “Empty Trash” option, the files still don’t really go anywhere. They’re just hidden from view. What you are really doing is telling the Mac that if it needs free space to save a file, it can write over those files that were deleted before. The benefit of this is that if you change your mind and want the file back, you can use a file recovery program to get it back. However, if it’s been too long or you’ve saved too many things since you deleted it, it maybe have already been written over.

[feedomit][/feedomit]

If you choose to “Secure Empty Trash,” there is no backing out. This option completely erases those chunks off your hard drive. No file recovery program will be able to get it back for you. However, it’s a great option for keeping sensitive information private. If you delete something you don’t want others to see, or if you are changing ownership of the computer, it’s a good idea to to completely wipe the hard drive, and to follow it with “Secure Empty Trash.” Either option you choose will still ask you if you are sure you want to empty the trash, just as a safeguard.

Before you choose either option, take a few seconds to peruse what you have in the trash before you select either option. The Trash Can acts every bit like a folder. If you click on it, it will bring up a window in the finder that shows a listing of all the files you have in the Trash Can. If you change your mind about one of the files, you can simply drag the file out of the trash and to somewhere else on your hard drive. While a file can sometimes be opened when it’s in the trash, if you want to make a change to it, it has to be outside of the trash.

Knowing how the file system works, as well as the process of deleting files in the trash, can greatly improve the way you use your Mac. It will lead to less lost data, as well as more security for sensitive data.

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Displaying Duplicates

The first way to clean duplicates out of your library is to have iTunes show you what duplicates actually exist in your library. To do this, open up iTunes and make sure you’re in your library screen. Then simply click File, and then Display Duplicates. This will change your library window into a duplicates window, showing you every music file you’ve got loaded into iTunes of which there is another with the same name.

You can now look through and find what you want to keep, or delete, and do so. This method is great for smaller libraries, or if you’re just trying to see how many duplicate files, and associated wasted space (as you can see displayed at the bottom of the screen) your library has. Where this becomes difficult though, are instances where repeats are okay, for instance, an actual studio album versus a live record. The songs in common between these CD’s may have the same name, but are very different songs. What do we do? Just keep reading to find out!

Displaying Exact Duplicates

If you have remixes or live tracks that share song names with albums, this is the method for you. Just like in the last method, we’re looking to the File menu for help. This time though, after click file, hold the Alt, or Option key, and you’ll notice that where it used to say Display Duplicates, it will now read Display Exact Duplicates. Clicking this will display, rather than songs whose names match, songs who are literally exact matches. This avoids seeing those same-title, different-track duplicates in your list, and can drastically change your results. Compare mine below to those above to see what I mean.

Which should I try?

Well, the differences are clear. You’re going to get way more results with the former, more broad search, and much more specific results with the latter. Which you want to use depends mostly on what your goal is. Is your hard drive full, and you’re looking to get rid of, or just move, a bunch of music that you only listen to occasionally, lie those live albums? Or, like many, have you copied and moved and recopied your library a bunch of times, with the best of intentions, but mixed results, and you need to clean up copies of files that shouldn’t be there? In that case, you’ll need the latter, more specific duplicate search.

What other ways have you found to keep your library clean? Do you use a third party utility, or just let iTunes handle it all? Let us know in the comments!

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Where do I start?

The first steps in purging unnecessary files from your drive is finding out what you have that you can get rid of! First, check in your “Users/YourUserNameHere/Documents” and “Users/YourUserName/Downloads” (Particularly that Downloads folder) for files you don’t need, or downloads that you don’t use anymore. For instance, if you download applications from the internet and install them, but never clear this folder out, in all likelihood, this folder is chock full of disk image files for those applications. If you have no more use for these installers, you can safely deleted them to get back those precious megabytes.

That’s great, but what about applications or other files?

Another way to find big (and useless) files is by using Omni Disk Sweeper to point out the huge files that are taking up your disk space. Download and run OmniDiskSweeper and you’ll be met with this screen:

Select your main hard drive, in my case, “Macintosh HD” and double click it. You’ll be greeted with something similar to the following, although your files of course will be different:

You can now start analyzing which folders are the biggest and why, as well as what apps you may have installed that you no longer use. Before deleting those apps though, you probably want to install AppTrap. AppTrap monitors your Trash bin and when you delete an application, alerts you to associated files that wouldn’t otherwise have been deleted when the application was removed, and let’s you quickly and easily remove those files.

What about system files?

OS X (and other Unix based operating systems) come with maintenance scripts pre-installed. These scripts are used to clean up system logs and temporary files that your Mac created without you even knowing it. By default, maintenance scripts are set to run automatically so that you don’t need to do anything to benefit from them. The problem though, is that they’re set to run between 3:15 am and 5:30 am, and if your Mac is asleep or shut down during this period, it never gets done. The easiest way to fix this problem is an application called Yasu. Yasu is a graphical interface for your Mac’s maintenance scripts, allowing you to run them, and even choose certain ones to run or not run, whenever you want.

Don’t forget about languages!

Another set of files you won’t find grouped together, but that might take up a ton of room on your drive, are language files. When you install OS X and select easy install, or have the default install when you bought the computer, there are a huge amount of language files installed for languages you likely don’t speak, and probably won’t ever run into on the internet. Additionally, every time you install an application, it comes with its own set of (probably useless for you) language packages. These take up a ton of space on your hard drive.

Monolingual is a super simple application that allows you to simply select what languages you want to get rid of (and it defaults to keeping the most common ones, so you’ll probably be ready to go as soon as you open the app) and then deletes all of them for you. All you need to do is double check the languages (for instance, I kept all the versions of English, not just the most common one,) hit “Remove”, follow by “Okay”, and Monolingual will do all the work for you. After just a few minutes, Monolingual got me back nearly 200MB of room!

Last steps – don’t forget the trash

You may have cleared up some room already, but don’t forget the final, and most important, step - empty the trash! This will actually delete most of the files from your drive, and with the help of AppTrap, you’ll get every last file out of your system.

Do you know any other programs to help with the cleanup process? Or any other tips or tricks to keep your hard drive running smoothly? If so, let us know in the comments!

Image credit: Toronja Azul

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Take me for example, I used to be an avid Orkut user (Yes, yes, I liked Orkut .. sue me!), but have almost stopped visiting the site since I joined Facebook. I also had an account on Myspace and hi5 before Orkut (and then Facebook) pulled me away. And of course, I use Twitter !

Oh and when I say I moved over to Facebook, that only means that I don’t log-in to hi5 or Orkut anymore. I still have accounts there, though. And I’m reminded of that fact every couple of days when I receive an email from them asking me to “reconnect” with some of my lost buddies.

If you, like me, are sick of such reminder emails, I think it is time to delete your profiles on those social networks that you don’t use anymore.

The social networks, on their part, don’t really make it easy to find the option to delete your profile, obviously, so we’ve listed out ways to do that on some of the most popular networks around.

Orkut

To delete your Orkut data, click on the Settings link and under the General Tab, you’ll find a link that says Delete my Orkut Account. Click on that link.

hi5

hi5 is another one of those social networks that used to be quite popular some time back but most people moved on to other networks when their friends moved on. Your account is still there, though, and to delete your account click on the Account link and click on the button that says “Cancel my account“.

Twitter

Among all the social networks that I’m on, Twitter is probably the most addictive and if you also seriously think that it’s becoming a hindrance to your offline social life and want to get rid off it, click on the the Settings link in the top right hand corner of your screen and scroll down to the bottom of the Account tab. You’ll see a link that says, Delete My Account. Click on it.

Facebook

When it comes to social networks, Facebook, is the big daddy of them all. See how I said Big daddy and not the grand daddy. Facebook is a relatively new network and if you already have friends on other networks that you don’t want to lose touch with, why bother with Facebook, right?

Deleting your facebook profile is probably the toughest of them all, because Facebook doesn’t really provide a method using which a user can delete his/her account. All they let you do is deactivate your account, which means that your data is still with them, but no one will be able to interact with you on the site.

Click on the Settings link in the Top right corner of the page and Select Deactivate from the Settings tab.

To really delete your account from Facebook, though, you’ll have to contact their customer service team and ask them to delete your account.

Which other social networks are you guys a part of? Do they let you delete your Account with them or keep your data locked up forever?

Image credit: liako

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Trick 1 :

Follow the steps below to tweak your Windows XP :

1. Go to START -> RUN, Or simply press Windows key + R.

2. Type in “cmd” in the RUN window.

3. In the Command Prompt type “gpedit.msc” & hit enter.

4. Now the Group Policy window will open.

5. In the left pane, select the Administrative Templates under User Configuration.

6. Now in the right pane, double-click the Windows Components & then Windows Explorer.

7. Now in the list of content that opens find & right-click on “Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin”.

8. Now select Properties. And in the resulting check the “Enabled” radio button and click Apply. In the Explain tab you can read what Microsoft says about this tweak.

Now you have your windows tweaked not to send a copy of the deleted file/folder to the Recycle Bin instead delete it completely.

Trick 2 :

This trick works fine for both XP & Vista as well

In case we want to delete a file directly bypassing the Recycle Bin we can use Shift+Delete. but this can also be done pressing Delete button only. Follow the steps to get your job done.

1. Right-click the Recycle bin icon on Desktop.

2. Click the Properties.

3. In the resulting window, change the settings as shown in the screenshot.

4. Now every time we try to delete a file to the recycle bin or totally, we get a confirmation message. This message can also be bypassed by changing the settings as shown in the screenshot above.

You may need to reboot the computer to set the changes. And sorry to say sometimes like all other tricks it may not work for you at all. But do not doubt the tweak, as you can check what Microsoft says about this (step 8 for trick 1). Well that’s all for now.

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