How does DEFRAG affect files?
Freespace wipes the data associated with files, but not fileNAMES. Shredder95/98/NT needs to operate on these directly. This is done by letting Shredder95/98/NT shred the files directly instead of deleting them first and letting freespace clean up the data. We *are* looking into addressing a further level of name destruction – while the best way right now is to let Shredder95/98/NT kill the name/size/date/data altogether. DEFRAG (defragmenting) files simply ‘packs’ them together. If sensitive files are at the end of the drive, sectors will be copied to the newly packed position, but left at the end where they are unsecure. Even if sensitive files are overwritten, they may be done in a way not approved by government security measures, meaning they would still be recoverable. Before using DEFRAG, copy your files to another secure location (diskette, other hard drive), use Shredder95 on your secure files, DEFRAG, and copy them back.
