Anyone with access to your hard drive can recover the data in your deleted files – which could be family photos or even videos. Data Shredder securely erases your deleted files by overwriting them with nonsense data. In other words, you can be sure your data has been fully destroyed. Avast has always come up with the new features to stand amongst its competitors. Data Shredder is a feature which allows the user to remove or erase the hard drive or individual files with.
This deletes existing files thoroughly and securely. Select Shred files from the drop-down menu in the top right corner. In the center of the screen, click Browse and use the check boxes to select files to shred from the directory. You can select single files by expanding a folder, or select an entire folder.
In the top right corner click Shred and then confirm with Yes. When the operation is complete a confirmation message appears. The speed of the shredding process depends on the amount of space to shred and the shredding method selected in settings.
Data Shredder is only available for Avast Ultimate and Avast Premier. General What is Data Shredder? Data Shredder allows you to irreversibly erase your files, folders, or entire drives, to prevent restoration or misuse of your data. How does Data Shredder work? When you erase a hard drive, or delete a file using standard tools, only a reference to its data is removed from the file system. Simply deleting sensitive files, such as user data or licensed software, may not be safe, as there are tools capable of restoring deleted files.
Data Shredder overwrites files with meaningless data multiple times before deleting them, which prevents data from being recovered. It is especially useful when selling or donating your PC or hard drive. How can I shred more than one file at one time?
You can shred individual files or entire folders from your PC at one time. To shred files or folders:. Open the Avast Antivirus. Click Privacy ▸ Data Shredder. Select the File Shredder button.
Type a file path or tick the box next to any file(s) or folder(s) you want to shred. Click OK, then Yes, Continue to confirm. When the file is successfully shredded, click OK to return to the main Data Shredder screen. Once a file or folder is shredded, there is no way to recover it.
How can I shred an entire drive at one time? You can easily shred an entire drive within Data Shredder. This option irreversibly erases an entire drive and all data stored on it. Once data is shredded, there is no way to recover it. This option is especially useful when selling or donating your PC or hard drive.
To shred your whole drive at once:. Open the Avast Antivirus.
![Shredder Shredder](https://www.palstore.net/image/cache/data/program/Avast! Premier-500x500.png)
Click Privacy ▸ Data Shredder. Select the Drive Shredder button. Select the drive you want to shred. Click Yes, Continue to confirm. Click OK to return to the main Data Shredder screen. You must reformat the partition after the process is complete to make the drive usable again.
How can I be sure my deleted files are really deleted? You can be sure your deleted files are gone by using the Deleted Files Shredder option within Data Shredder.
This option irreversibly erases the remnants of previously deleted files. This is useful if you have already used a standard delete method, such as manually deleting the files. Open the Avast Antivirus. Click Privacy ▸ Data Shredder. Select the Deleted files Shredder button. Select a drive containing deleted files you want to shred.
Click Yes, Continue to confirm. Click OK to return to the main Data Shredder screen. Is Data Shredder a free feature?
Data Shredder is a feature available only for Avast Ultimate and Avast Premier. Settings Can I shred files from my desktop? In Data Shredder Settings you can enable Show Data Shredder in the Windows context menu. This will add a shredding option to any context menu when you right-click on any file or folder in the File Explorer or on your desktop. Enabling this option will allow you to shred files or folders without opening the Avast Antivirus. To enable this setting:.
Open the Avast Antivirus. Click Privacy ▸ Data Shredder. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner. Tick the box next to Show Data Shredder in the Windows context menu.
This setting is now enabled. Which algorithms are used to shred my data? In Data Shredder Settings you can choose between 3 algorithms to shred your data according to your preferred level of protection. To change your preferred algorithm:. Open Avast Antivirus.
Click Privacy ▸ Data Shredder. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner. Click the drop-down menu under Which algorithm for shredding you want to use and select your preferred algorithm. Each algorithm will make a specific number of passes to shred your data.
However, if you choose Random overwrite (selected by default), you can specify how many passes you want the algorithm to make while irreversibly shredding your data. Troubleshooting Why isn't Data Shredder shredding my files? Data Shredder may not be able to shred certain files due to insufficient access rights. In such cases, we recommend deleting a file manually, and then using the Deleted Files Shredder on the main Data Shredder screen.