Do you mean Piriform CCleaner? It's about as "professional" as any housewife's computer tool. No offence to housewives.
It's a free tool designed to delete (or if so configured, wipe) most data not directly created by a user. It does a good job of it. Here's the current list of what it can delete/ wipe
If anyone on here can recover data which has been wiped by CCleaner or any other app then I'm sure the world would be very interested in hearing about it!
It would help if the OP clarified what exactly they want to securely erase.
One thing I have noted with CCleaner is that if you have VSS switched on and the file that was "erased" existed when the last volume shadow was made then you can recover the file.
As far as I remember CCleaner has an option to remove volume shadows but it won't let you remove the most recent copy in case something goes wrong.
Also if you install CCleaner rather than running it in silent mode the action of installing an application generates a volume shadow.
This may well be the case with other erasing software too so while these points aren't comparitive I do think they are a little ironic.
Well, I took an old hard drive I had overwritten some time ago with 3 passes(before knowing a single pass was enough), and used recuva, Diskdigger, and Getdataback.
No files were found except the HDD filesystem. Recuva didn´t find anything, but mentioned(like in a similar case I mentioned here with a different disk)a number of ignored files.
Well, I took an old hard drive I had overwritten some time ago with 3 passes(before knowing a single pass was enough), and used recuva, Diskdigger, and Getdataback.
Overwritten WHAT with WHICH tools and HOW exactly?
No files were found except the HDD filesystem. Recuva didn´t find anything, but mentioned(like in a similar case I mentioned here with a different disk)a number of ignored files.
Good ) , have you examined the disk (not the filesystem/volume) with a disk editor?
Have you checked it with a disk-oriented (not filesystem/volume) recovery tool?
And with a forensic carver?
jaclaz
obviously not jaclaz, you know I am not expert.
On the other hand, if after full format and overwriting a disk, files still can be recovered with other known techniques, this, then is not what I believed yo have understand from your and other´s answers here(perhaps a misunderstanding of me), as I thought that a single pass overwritting would make all data not retrievavle.
It's a question of semantics. Without context, there's no way of knowing if we're talking about wiping specific files, free space, or the entire drive.
I am referring to the entire disk after doing a windows, not quick, format.
and of course, a ccleaner overwriting.
and of course, a ccleaner overwriting.
CCleaner does not have the disk as "object" or "target" AFAIK.
Definitely Recuva has a volume or fileasystem as "target".
Here lies the issue in "semantics" or "terminology".
Until you describe EXACTLY, in the UTTERMOST detail, what you want to do, what you tried to do, what you expecetd to happen, etc., see
http//homepage.ntlworld.com./jonathan.deboynepollard/FGA/problem-report-standard-litany.html
Right now not only you are failing to provide these data, but you also avoid answering EXACTLY to the asked questions.
I will try again
Overwritten WHAT with WHICH tools and HOW exactly?
JFYI, "windows" is meaningless, the effect of the FORMAT command (which BTW stiill has the volume or filesystem and NOT the disk as "object") is DIFFERENT in DIFFERENT versions of Windows, DETAILS are important.
jaclaz
jaclaz I will try to be more precise.
I take an old external hdd, connect it through USB to a main computer, Windows Vista or Seven.
It appears as "E" drive. then first I make a Windows format clicking with mouse´s right button on the drive, unmarking "quick format" option. Then I wait for the format is made.
When finished, I run ccleaner,tools, drive wipper, then I select wipe entire disk(there is other option which is "wipe free space"). This option is performed with 1, 3, 7 ….passes. Select, for example 1 pass, and wait for 1, 2, 3 hours…depending on the HDD size. An so on…
jaclaz I will try to be more precise.
I take an old external hdd, connect it through USB to a main computer, Windows Vista or Seven.
It appears as "E" drive. then first I make a Windows format clicking with mouse´s right button on the drive, unmarking "quick format" option. Then I wait for the format is made.
When finished, I run ccleaner,tools, drive wipper, then I select wipe entire disk(there is other option which is "wipe free space"). This option is performed with 1, 3, 7 ….passes. Select, for example 1 pass, and wait for 1, 2, 3 hours…depending on the HDD size. An so on…
As expected, if you select a drive letter the object is a drive (or volume or filesystem or partition if primary) AND NOT the disk.
Until you don't research and learn the difference between a drive (the thing to which a drive letter is assigned) and the disk (the whole thing that may contain several drives, hidden sectors, hidden partitions, unindexed space, HPA's and DCO's) we will be talking different languages.
jaclaz