Ccleaner effect on windows Recycle Bin

I would like to get clarification on one thing that puzzles me about the procedure of running ccleaner on Recycle Bin. When I send a file from Windows desktop, for example, to the Recycle Bin, is there not a copy of the deleted file still on the Desktop? I thought there would be because there are recovery tools available for undeleting files, such as Recuva.

However a file finds itself in the Recycle Bin, via Delete or drag and drop etc, it doesn't physically get 'deleted' or even 'moved' to the Recycle Bin.

Windows simply changes it's name to indicate the change in status and flags its space as being available to be overwritten.

So since it never actually gets deleted, it is available to be recovered, right up to the point where it's former space gets overwritten by some new file.

A dumbed-down analogy is to not think a file as deleted but more like made invisible. It's still there, you just can't see it.

"A dumbed-down analogy is to not think a file as deleted but more like made invisible. It's still there, you just can't see it."

Gooood explanation, imho. I like the simple ones, the dumbed-downer the better. :lol:

And if you secure delete a file the contents are replaced with unreadable junk, is that right?

depending on the method used to secure delete (or overwrite), basically you are on the right track.

the usual method is to write data (usually 0's or 1's but can be anything) into the 'flagged for deletion' space.

this makes recovery as close to impossible as possible.

the ONLY 100% secure deletion process involves an angle grinder (and I'm not even kidding there, the spooks in an adjacent building to us used to do exactly that).

Thanks, MTA.

I started a new topic in the CCleaner part of the forum. Asked a question sort of like the one above about obscuring file names.

I agree, secure deletion is sort of an illusion. Melting the paltters will also work. Grinder is easier. :P

These answers don't really relate to the recycler.

When a file is sent to the recycler Windows will rename it (the form being dependent on the Windows version) and alter the owning directory to the recycler. The file remains in the same place on disk and no space exists to be overwritten or reclaimed.

When the recycler is emptied, either by CC or other means, the deletion method particular to CC or other means is used. The file's meta data is removed from the MFT and the space the file occupied is available for reuse.

I have seen files deleted from the recycler with the recycler naming standards and also with the original name: I am not sure of the logic behind this.