East-Tec Eraser

When you delete something with standard Windows tools, the data will not be actually erased. It will still be present on your hard drive. This is why it is possible to recover lost files but, using the proper software, it is also possible to completely delete data that were already erased with conventional tools. East-Tec Eraser was designed to permanently delete data, making it impossible to recover. This can be very useful if you need to erase your browsing data or any other tracks you leave behind while using a computer.

The software's setup package is lightweight (5.66 Mb), so it can be downloaded fast. The operating systems you can install it on include all versions of Windows, from XP to 7. You can run the program even on a low end computer. The minimum system requirements are a 300 MHz processor, 128 Mb of RAM and 10 Mb of free disk space.

The main area of the interface consists of a list where you can add your files and folders in order to erase them in a secure manner. The button for adding files or folders and the one for deleting them can be found, among others, in a column on the left edge of the window. A slider on the bottom area of the window will let you set a security level. A higher security level means that the software will perform a more complex deleting process and it will pass multiple times over the data's location to make sure it can never be recovered.

Adding files to a list and deleting them is not all you can do with East-Tec Eraser. There is a good number of wizards which you can launch using the buttons on the left side of the window or the ones above the files and folders list. The Privacy Guard feature works like a disk cleaner. It will delete all sorts of temporary files left behind by the system, third party applications, Peer2Peer applications, news and email readers or web browsers (IE, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari and more). The file types from these categories can be targeted under separate tabs, during one of the Privacy Gurad's wizard. Email can be deleted separately, with another wizard. The program will recognize mails from clients such as MS Outlook, Mozillar Thunderbird, Netscape, IncrediMail, Pegasus and more. You only have to select one of these clients from a drop menu and the wizard will do the rest.

The program can also erase data which has been deleted with conventional tools. When using this feature, you can target any of your local or removable drives and set the program to scramble the properties (name, date, size, etc) of deleted files or folders and the system transactions log file. After you are done with these settings, East-Tec Eraser will scrub your free disk space, making impossible to recover deleted data. A similar function lets you wipe an entire drive. Unlike the Windows format option, this task will take a bit longer to complete, but it will permanently delete all data on a drive.