File Shredder

When you erase a hard drive, or delete a file using standard tools, only a reference to its data is removed from the file system. Simply deleting sensitive files, such as user data or licensed software, may not be safe as there are tools capable of restoring deleted files.

File Shredder overwrites files with meaningless data multiple times before deleting them which prevents data from being recovered. This tool is especially useful when selling/donating your computers or hard drives.

To shred a file or folder from the File Shredder screen in the AVG user interface, follow these steps:

1. Go to Menu ▸ File Shredder, and click Select file or folder....
2. Select a file path or tick a file to shred it from the folder, then click OK to confirm your choice. You can select single files by expanding a folder, or select an entire folder.
3. Click Shred it to irreversibly erase the file(s). The speed of the shredding process depends on the size of the file or folder.
4. Click OK return to the main screen.

You can also shred a file or folder by right-clicking on its icon in Windows and selecting Shred using AVG from the context menu.

File Shredder may not be able to shred certain files due to insufficient access rights. In such cases, we recommend deleting a file manually, and then using File Shredder to shred the contents of the Recycle Bin.

If the Shred using AVG option is not visible in the context menu or if you are not able to shred some files, ensure that:

• You are not using hard drives configured in RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) or connected via SCSI (Small Computer System Interface).
• You are not using SSDs (Solid-state Drives) on the Windows edition lower than Windows 7.
• You are logged in to Windows as a user with administrator privileges.