How to Securely Delete Files Manually

(This is a Windows-Only Tutorial)

Deletion of files is an ordinary task for the average computer owner, but things can get hair-tearing if you want to securely delete files because of privacy or malware purposes.

Secure deletion is composed of two stages, and three for extremely secure deletion.

STAGE ONE – SECURING FILE FOR DELETION
This is the first and most important part of the process. This is where we will secure the data of the file from recovery, and to prepare it for deletion.

1. Open the file you want to delete using Notepad (for small files) or WordPad (for bigger files). Do not use Microsoft Office Word.
2. Highlight/select everything in the file (use CTRL + A), then delete (DELETE key).
3. Save the file (CTRL + S), but do not yet close Notepad or WordPad.
4. After saving the file, type random characters of any combination into the workspace (we recommend letters -> numbers -> symbols -> numbers -> repeat… combination)
5. When you reach at least ten lines of jumbled keys, re-save the file.
6. Exit Notepad or WordPad, then re-open the file to see if the changes were committed.
7. If the changes were applied, you may now proceed to stage two.

STAGE TWO – DELETION
This is the most crucial part of the process. This is where we delete the file securely without leaving recoverable traces.

1. Select the target file.
2. Hit rename (F2),
3. Change its file name to a random jumble of letters and numbers, adding the dollar sign ($) at the beginning. Likewise, change the file extension to a random jumble of characters, without adding the dollar sign at the beginning.
4. While the file is selected, hold the SHIFT key, then press DELETE. A confirmation will appear asking whether you will proceed with the deletion (note that it would not use the Recycle Bin first anymore). Select YES.
5. Once you have successfully deleted the file, open the command prompt, navigate to the location of the deleted file, then check the directory if the file still exists (rare case, but happens to people with viruses). If it does, use the DEL dos command.
6. Congratulations! You have successfully securely deleted your unwanted file. For paranoids wanting extremely secure deletion, proceed to stage three. Otherwise, continue living happily.

STAGE THREE – EXTREMELY SECURE DELETION
Stage three is very simple, but involves the use of a third-party file recovery software. You might be wondering why you’ll need a recovery program. The answer is simple– we’ll if the destroyed data was destroyed correctly and if the recovery program will recovered the jumbled characters and not the original data of the file.

1. Download a file recovery program such as Undelete or Recuva.
2. Install, then run.
3. Try to recover the deleted file, if it was recovered, then proceed to step four. If it wasn’t, we already won.
4. After recovering the file, open it using Notepad and check if it contains the jumbled data, not the original data of the file. Also check its filename and extension.
5. If the recovered data was the original data of the file, you incorrectly did the process, so you should start over and begin with stage one. If the recovered data was the jumbled code, congratulations! Now you can sleep happily and worry no more about your paranoia.

PC Buster also recommends automated shredders such as File Shredder for instant secure deletion, but doing manual deletion is still 200% more secure than using the said shredder.