I have a few photos on my computer here at work that I deleted but I want them to completely go away so they are not traceable. They are mostly of my wedding and stuff, but I don't feel comfortable with them possibly being looked at later on. Is there I way I can get rid of them without having to have administrator access?
2007-12-28 04:44:54 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Other - Computers
Easy. You need a utility program which will write over the space occupied by the files. Since you already have deleted the files, empty the recycle bin. Then, you need a program which will wipe the free space on the drive. Norton Utilities had one called WIPEDISK and also one specifically for individual files called WIPEFILE which would do this kind of thing. You can easily search on http://www.download.com for any number of free utility secure erase programs. However, without admin rights, you may not be able to install or run the programs. You could try emailing one to yourself and then downloading the program to your machine and running it from there, maybe. You need a program which is stand-alone, not needing to be "installed" for this to work without admin rights. A stand-alone program runs from whereever it is without any special installation which would take admin rights. When I was working a while back as a network admin, this technique was a continual headache for me. People were continually sending things and we got hit with virus programs often as a result. Actually, if this is not sensitive data, you can make it difficult for anyone to recover the data by simply deleting the files, then emptying the recycle bin and running DEFRAG to degragment the hard disk. While that does not write over the old data, it shuffles the data around while it defragments the files on disk. A simple "unerase" program will no longer work to recover deleted files after you defrag the disk, so a casual user is not going to get a look at your files. A good forensics person could still recover data, but that would take a lot of work. Using DEFRAG should not require admin rights.
2007-12-28 05:26:58 · answer #1 · answered by rowlfe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only way to permantely delete files is to re-format the hard drive, which you probably don't have the option to have.
When you delete an item, you don't actually delete it. You mark the space on the hard disk to be overwritten. You could try to load up the hard drive with other stuff that will slowly overwrite those files and then it will be gone.
But a normal delete of the files will be sufficient, unless if you job does a thorough forensic analysis of your computer. And wedding photos aren't that bad.
2007-12-28 04:50:12 · answer #2 · answered by drdavidow 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try using Eraser Portable ( http://portableapps.com/apps/utilities/eraser_portable ). It is just like the program Eraser, which allows you to securely delete files without recovery, except that it does not have to be installed conventionally. Run it and see if you can use it without administrator access.
It has several options and is a powerful program, so make sure you familiarize yourself with its functions before you use it to its full extent.
If you already deleted the files from the Recycle Bin, you should erase all unused or free space from the hard drive by making a new task and choosing the drive your files were on. If you haven't deleted the files yet, just choose to erase the files and not all unused space on the hard drive.
2007-12-28 04:54:51 · answer #3 · answered by Josué F 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since you have already deleted them there is nothing you can do. I doubt if anyone is interested enough to care. So relax. Next time, rename the file, by right clicking and select rename. give it a bogus name such as 12, but change the extension so it will not be no program can open it, for example it maybe wedding.bmp or wedding.jpeg change the extension to something that is not known as a picture file like wedding.lor ".lor" is a bogus format. No graphic program will open it.
2007-12-28 04:52:38 · answer #4 · answered by a2z_alterego 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
my computer at work will not let me erase files
sorry
that's why we do not download ANYTHING we do not want the boss to see - cuase it's THEIR computer - not ours
and the only way to really delete it - is take a hammer to the hard drive
really sorry - but we learn, painfully
have a great 2008
2007-12-28 04:50:27 · answer #5 · answered by tom4bucs 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On my comp I just right click and it will say delete or maybe on left side of the screen
good luck!!
2007-12-28 04:47:23 · answer #6 · answered by Chloe 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ita diffucult job to complete erase the files .
try de freaggin the the drive , but it also not a fool proof solution
2007-12-28 07:41:23 · answer #7 · answered by Nikhil 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋