Secure File Deletion - Very Complex Overwrite (35) - Ok to do everytime?

CCleaner for Windows
1

Hi,

Is it ok, or does it hurt anything to always run ccleaner in Secure File Deletion (35 passes) mode? Not a computer tech here at all but I like to keep my pute very clean.

Any and all answers would be appreciated.

Best,

Michael

2

Topic should read: OK TO DO EVERYTIME?

I tried to edit the topic title, but no success.

Best,

Michael

3

You can run 36-pass delete if you wish, but many consider that one pass is quite sufficient to ensure privacy (there are endless disussions regarding the pros and cons to be found on this and other forums). With multi-pass deletes there will be more wear and tear on your hard drive, but probably not enough to notice in the life of your disk. None of this applies to SSD's by the way.

4

Thank You very much.

Best,

Michael

5

I'd recommend using a lower overwrite threshold, and you can see how successful they are by using Recuva to try and locate the overwritten files - note that small files in the MFT won't be overwritten.

It's general knowledge that 35-pass can wear out the hard disk faster, and is frankly too paranoid for daily use. However more noticable to you on a daily basis will be the amount of time it takes for a 35-pass overwrite to complete especially if you're regularly dealing with large sized files - for instance at 1-pass overwriting a 500 MB file doesn't take much time, however at 35-pass you'll be waiting an extemely long amount of time for it to complete.

6

Just to clarify, small files held entirely in the MFT will be overwritten with CC secure file delete, but not with CC disk wipe options (unless the specific box is checked). But I think we're discussing secure file delete in this topic.