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Wiping Files


Attention! Wiping files on SSD devices is not possible in most cases. Read the File Erasure on SSD and HDD devices page for details.

Once wiped, a file cannot be restored! No Windows or third-party data recovery utility can do this!

R-Wipe & Clean deletes rather than wipes files if the What to wipe option on the Settings panel is set to Nothing . Wiping files is disabled on SSD devices by default. You may enable it, but you should understand what you are doing.

Wiping a Single File

You do not have to start R-Wipe & Clean to wipe and delete a single file or several files. You may do this from File Explorer . Make sure that you have the Wipe files and folders directly from the shortcut menu option selected on the Integration tab of the Settings panel.

To wipe a file or several files,

Select and right-click the file(s) in File Explorer and select Wipe and Delete with R-Wipe & Clean on the shortcut menu.

The Wipe File Explorer dialog box will appear.

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Wipe File Explorer dialog box

Click the Start to wipe button, and R-Wipe & Clean will wipe the file(s) with default wiping settings.

If you want to change the wiping settings for this file, click the Advanced View button

Wiping Several Files and Folders at Once

If you want to delete and wipe several files at once, go to the Wipe Lists section for details.

Wiping the Recycle Bin

You do not have to start R-Wipe & Clean to wipe the contents of the Recycle Bin . You may do this from its shortcut menu. Make sure that the Wipe the Recycle Bin from the shortcut menu option on the Integration tab of the Settings panel is selected.

To wipe the contents of the Recycle Bin,

Right-click the Recycle Bin and select Wipe with R-Wipe & Clean on the shortcut menu.

The Wipe Recycle Bin contents dialog box will appear.

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Wipe Recycle Bin contents dialog box

Click the Start to wipe button, and R-Wipe & Clean will wipe the Recycle Bin with default wiping settings.

If you want to change the wiping settings for this file, click the Advanced View button

Default file wiping settings may be specifically set on the Files Wiping Settings tab of the Settings panel.

Wiping File Alternative Data Streams

File Alternative Data Stream (ADS) is a set of metadata used to store some additional info for a file. For example, Internet Explorer uses it to store the zone identifier  the file was downloaded from. . (My Computer, Local Intranet Zone, Trusted sites Zone, Internet Zone, Restricted Sites Zone).

To wipe file alternative data streams,

Click the File Streams Cleaner on the Tools menu.

The File Streams Cleaner dialog box will appear.

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File Streams Cleaner dialog box

Select the required Scan Options and click the Scan Now button and when the scan is completed, R-Wipe & Clean will show the results of the scan.

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File Streams Cleaner dialog box

Select the required files and click the Clean Now button.

You may use the Ctrl+A shortcut to select all the lines and then copy them to the clipboard using the Ctrl+C shortcut.

The File Streams Cleaner will start cleaning alternative data streams of the selected files. When cleaning finishes, R-Wipe & Clean will show the results.

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File Streams Cleaner dialog box