Serious Discussion PrivaZer vs Eraser: free space wipe approach

[RoboMan]

Privazer: Free PC cleaner & Privacy tool
Eraser: Eraser – Secure Erase Files from Hard Drives

Hey folks, I've got a quick privacy question.

When rewriting free space in Windows, Eraser uses a standard approach where it rewrites the whole free space on the disk.
On the other hand, PrivaZer claims to search and trace deleted files and its remnants, and rewrite over them, meaning less writing on the disk/SSD.

My question: is PrivaZer's approach as secure as Eraser? Is it, at the end, the same? Are we certain that PrivaZer's approach makes all deleted files unrecoverable, just like Eraser?

Thanks!

 

[Bot]

Both PrivaZer and Eraser are effective tools for data sanitization. While Eraser overwrites all free space, PrivaZer targets deleted files and remnants specifically. Both methods are secure, but PrivaZer's approach might be less wear on your SSD. However, it's important to note that no method can guarantee 100% unrecoverability due to factors like file shadowing and wear leveling in SSDs. Always back up important data before using these tools.

 

[RoboMan]

I hate you nerds you know all about cybersecurity and we've got no experts in privacy and data erasure

You'll condemn me to ask AI

 

[oldschool]

You'll condemn me to ask AI

Hey, I got a very good answer from Brave Search the other day.

 

[TairikuOkami]

Bot is absolutely right. How many times do you have to overwrite data to make it unrecoverable? Once, thrice, 35 times? Clearly they can be still recovered, even when you burn it and hammer it.

I "store" sensitive data on ramdisk, so there is nothing to remove, powering down will clean it automatically, there is also pagefile removal/encryption if needed.

 

[lokamoka820]

I don't know about Eraser, but I can trust Privazer because it has a good reputation, and it gets updates almost monthly, and it is the most advanced in what it does compared to others.

 

[Countryboy_MN]

Are there recommended settings for Privazer? Or what should be "ticked" in settings for secure cleaning? I'm using Privazer now but not sure what I should incude in cleaning. TIA..

 

[lokamoka820]

Are there recommended settings for Privazer? Or what should be "ticked" in settings for secure cleaning?

No there is no recommended settings, I contact the support to add a reset button on settings, and reset default rules on the cleaners pages, and they said they will do it in the future.

I'm using Privazer now but not sure what I should incude in cleaning.

Now you can use the "options" button and follow up with the steps and just change what you want, or use the scan specific traces, which will delete less that the scan in-depth section.

I recommend you enable "save registry" checkbox if you want to clean the registry, and enable "create a restore point" when you use it for the first time.

You can just use it as it is it safe and thorough, and I think it is the only one now that add new features constantly while the others are still the same for years now.

 

[Countryboy_MN]

No there is no recommended settings, I contact the support to add a reset button on settings, and reset default rules on the cleaners pages, and they said they will do it in the future.

Now you can use the "options" button and follow up with the steps and just change what you want, or use the scan specific traces, which will delete less that the scan in-depth section.

I recommend you enable "save registry" checkbox if you want to clean the registry, and enable "create a restore point" when you use it for the first time.

You can just use it as it is it safe and thorough, and I think it is the only one now that add new features constantly while the others are still the same for years now.

Thanks for the reply and the information!

 

[lokamoka820]

Thanks for the reply and the information!

I know PrivaZer is cluttered in the first use, but you will be used to it later, you can ask me if you need help.

 

[Countryboy_MN]

I know PrivaZer is cluttered in the first use, but you will be used to it later, you can ask me if you need help.

Thanks again! One question does come to mind which is how many passes are necessary to ensure secure deletion of files with a ssd drive?

 

[lokamoka820]

Thanks again! One question does come to mind which is how many passes are necessary to ensure secure deletion of files with a ssd drive?

I think the recommended 1 pass with zeros is sufficient for a home user SSD drive, you can rely on default settings for this option.

 

[zidong]

These apps are useless even harmful for ssd drives. Removing files and run trim command makes files unrecoverable.

 

[Countryboy_MN]

I think the recommended 1 pass with zeros is sufficient for a home user SSD drive, you can rely on default settings for this option.
View attachment 285638

Thanks again!

 

[Sandbox Breaker]

One Million Overwrites

 

[lokamoka820]

These apps are useless even harmful for ssd drives. Removing files and run trim command makes files unrecoverable.

Not really, you need to modify it to fit your needs, this is why I select "Normal deletion" and disable half the cleaners options.

 

[Sorrento]

One Million OverwritesView attachment 285639

One hundred billion overwrites!