Underwrite existing files ?

[Chairman]

Is there an option for Eraser to 'underwrite' existing files when erasing free space (or does it just do it) ?

While reading the warning to defrag after erasing free space it occurred to me that just in everyday use if I delete a file then do virtually anything else the space where that file was could be used again by the time I do an erase, so to really get rid of all the deleted junk on my drive Eraser needs to move existing files a freshly cleaned part of the drive then nuke the part of the drive where the files were sitting.

If Eraser doesn't do this, would imaging a drive to another clean drive then nuking the first one achieve the desired result or do all the old layers of traces of data get moved as well when you make an image of a drive ?

Thanks
Gary

 

[garrett01]

The best way to get around this issue is to use drive encryption. Something like truecrypt.

Creating an image or doing a backup/restore will work but might consume an excessive amount of time proportional to the problem.


Garrett