[slowbird]

I opened a document (tax info that I dont want saved on the computer) with Adobe I did not save it to anything that I know of. Anyway Adobe has a memory of past things that were open using it, under the file menu. How do I delete those documents that are there? Does this make sense?

[77birdman]

Click on the file under the file menu, if you did not save it then it may not be there and you will get an error message. It is only a pointer of last file(s) opened, it does not mean it can find it again.

[sixtee8gto]

you can always hit start, then Find Files, then type the name of the file, delete it, if it finds anything. It will search your entire drive for that file.

[Bronze66]

Open Windows Explorer or My Computer. Click on the "C" drive, click on "Documents & Settings", click on your "user name" (what ever name you use for logon), click on "Recent".
This will show you all the recent files you have opened. Actual these are nothing but short cuts to the original file. If the original is deleted it shouldn't work properly. You can delete all those "Recent" files if you want. They are just pointers.

[mikes6t6]

Download "CCcleaner" off the internet. WWW.CNET.COM and do a search. Its free. Cleans histories (drop down menu of last open documents) of all applications, etc.... (you can chose which / or all applications it will clean). Does a good job of cleaning internet files as well. FYI - There is a file on every windows computer called "index.dat" that you can't delete manually. Even if you delete your internet history, cookies, etc. this fill still keeps track of any personal info you may have transmitted over the internet.
This program deletes the info in that file also. Good security!!!

[steve]

as far as i understand it anything copied to your computer still exists after you erase it....the info is not actually deleted the links that get you there are. the data is only erased when it is physically "overwritten" by another piece of data. (thats why the cop tv programs show the authorities taking computers out of criminals homes and retrieving data.) as long as very little time has passed the data usually has not been "written over". the exception is macintosh where they have an option of "secure empty trash" where the system actually writes over the data to eliminate everything. this empty trash feature on macs takes a LONG time to erase large blocks of data for that reason. maybe pc's now have that function and i am unaware of it. what has happened in recent years is no-one is legitimately selling software to retrieve data (like norton and symantec ect.) that does not mean that the software does not exist....it is just in the hands of criminals and authorities and not for sale to us. a good option is to save sensitive data to a small external drive and wipe it clean...or use software on the net as mentioned if you trust it.....remember most things that are free are worth what you paid for them !!!!!

any computer whiz can retrive data with time and tools......

please chime in computer experts if i have this wrong...............

[vidguy]

You're right .. In normal use just deleting a file does not destroy the integrity of the data. It simply removes the way that it is indexed..

There are processes that completely "remove" the data by overwriting it with random data.. But you specifically have to perform them. Some newer version of Norton type apps will have a function for this. Or search for things like "Eraser" or "securly erase data" for info. And then perform something like a defragment.. This is a pretty safe way for the average guy. It is not easy to recover data unless you are really into it and want to spend a LOT of time..

Speaking from experience I have had Deleted data restored by a data recovery service. twice now, once for myself (work) once for a client.

I am pretty computer savvy and tried to do this myself for a week before sending the drive off. I tried really hard! And spent some money on software etc, and it is not an easy task unless you start the process immediately after the "deletion".

[mikes6t6]

I agree to both the above. All info still resides somewhere on the computer no matter what program you use, unless it is completely wiped clean & formatted.

[65gto69]

Anyone can wipe a hard drive completely clean by using hard drive tools from the manufacturers site and download them to a disc.

It won't work on an individual file but it will work if you have a hard drive you want to sell or want to trash but don't want anyone to get any recoverable info.

The tool when used to completely erase the hard drive will write "0" to every sector of the hard drive replacing every piece of data with a zero. This process can take a while, depending on how many passes you want it to take. I have done many with using 3 passes and it took me about 8-10 hours to complete wipe a hard drive.

It can be done but only if you do the whole drive.

Mark