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The computer has definitely become quite the household item, both for the house and for the office settings. Oftentimes, we store classified information on our desktops or laptops. Now, the concept of classified information here just may be relative from one person to another. Classified information for a person working for the IRS, for instance, could include the social security numbers certain people, whereas classified information for a youngster could be drafts written for blog sites and other social networking sites. Nonetheless, the existence of classified information begs for the usage of file shredder software.

What exactly is file shredder software? File shredder software is actually an application that has been specially developed and conceptualized geared towards the secure and safe deletion of all sorts of stored computer files that can be found on your hard disk. You may think you do not need this because the usual Windows or Mac operating systems come with delete options for files already. Actually, the *deleted* file may disappear from the folder where it was originally stored, but it's not really deleted. Permanent deletion does not really occur here because enough remnants of the deleted file are retained for its reconstruction and recovery. The contents are not deleted physically. What happens is the space that was once allotted for that file is now marked available for storage of new contents already. The old file is still in existence, just moved to another spot in the system. So, with the help of third party products, the deleted file can actually be undeleted and recovered into existence.

But with file shredder software, you actually go an extra mile. The act of shredding any sort of file actually means that the disk area for that file is overwritten. This means the file is not just deleted, but any traces of it are also removed from the system. There are even applications that do not just do the overwriting process once, but rather three times. With this in mind, you are then assured fewer chances that the shredded file would be recovered.

Beyond that, today's file shredder software actually deletes metadata that comes with the files as well. Metadata is comprised of miscellaneous information about the files that you store, such as the date the file was created, the title of the file, the author of the file, and more. With the deletion of metadata, you actually have even fewer risks of recovery!

These file shredding applications are pretty easy to use. They usually come with interfaces that are very simple to navigate, along with a set of instructions and how-to's for certain steps you have to take in shredding files. All you virtually have to do is select the file you want to delete, choose the options for the deletion of the file, and you're all set to go. The more advanced file shredder software applications come with different algorithms for shredding. Yes, the more advanced application ensures more secure deletion of files. However, along with this more secure feature comes longer running or operating time for the application. Thus, what should really be used for basis in selecting would be your needs and your preferences.