What is Shredding?
Why only deleting a file is dangerous
When you place a file in the Trash, your computer is simply notifying Mac OS that the disk space the file previously occupied is no longer in use. This newly freed disk space is available for use by new files. But, the trashed file has not been destroyed or removed from your computer.
The problem with simply "Trashing" a file is that the information previously stored in that trashed file is still physically located on your disk until another file randomly overwrites the trashed information. Simply "Trashing" a file may allow someone to recover information that you thought you had removed.
How SafeShred helps
SafeShred solves this problem by allowing you to shred your files. When a file is shredded, the information in the file is purposely overwritten with selected bit patterns before being removed from your disk. Using SafeShred Free, SafeShred Pro or SafeShred Xtreme, you may choose the level of shredding that best suits your purposes. And, under current known recovery methods, files shredded with SafeShred may not be recovered.
Also, for SafeShred Xtreme users, "Filename Mangling" is used. "Filename Mangling" renames the file to random characters after shredding which prevents the recovery of the original filename.
("Filename Mangling" renames the file to random characters before shredding. This further confuses any efforts to obtain information from shredded files)
Why Shredding takes so much time
When files are deleted but not shredded, the information previously stored in the deleted files are still physically located on your disk. Unlike deleting a file, which requires very little effort by Mac OS, shredding a file requires every byte of information contained in the file to be overwritten.
The time required to shred a file, free disk space, or an entire volume is proportional to the speed and size of your hard drive, the level of shredding, and the shredding pattern. Shredding free disk space or an entire volume can require on the order of minutes to many hours to complete.
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