| Version | 4.10 |
|---|---|
| Publisher | PrivacyRoot |
| Release date | Apr 17, 2015 |
| Date added | Apr 17, 2015 |
| Os requirements | Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows XP |
| Requirements | Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 |
| Total downloads | 20,788 |
| Downloads per week | 5 |
| Price | Free |
Description
If you clean computer's Recycle Bin, the files and folders are not deleted forever. Anyone can use special recovery software and restore any deleted data (files and folders) because any deleted file still exists on the hard disk until will be overwritten with other data. The main purpose of this program is to make impossible recovery of files and folders which was deleted in the past. Program uses several security algorithms (DoD 5220.22, Gutmann and other). While working this program fills out information to the end of each cluster, leaving no chance to restore even just one word. Prevent Restore can wipe deleted files on any disk, for example: usb flash, SSD, memory stick or any other sort of removable disk (media storage). However you cannot use it on CD (CDR, DVD) - such disks you should physically burn to avoid any possibility of recovery. As an additional feature the program can erase paging file of OS Windows (virtual memory cache) which contains cache of personal information, for example: usernames and passwords.
Review
As its name suggests, Prevent Restore keeps others from restoring deleted files by filling in unused sectors on your hard drive. It worked as promised, but it took a long time to do its job.
Each time we tried to access the program through the desktop icon, we received an error message. We were able to bypass it and move on to the user interface, but it was a mark against the program. Prevent Restore comes with a wizard that makes it especially easy to get started. First, it asked us to select which disk we wanted to run the program. Second, we had to choose what to do with the deleted file space: replace with random characters, spaces, or random digits. During our tests, we opted to check our C drive and to replace the file sectors with random characters. The whole process took about an hour, and our computer's performance slowed down so much that we couldn't do anything else. As the program was wrapping up, it told us to ignore any messages stating that we had run out of disk space. But once it finished, we found that it successfully filled in the unused sectors with random digits.
Novices beware, though. A Help feature isn't included with the program, and you won't find much guidance on the publisher's site either. When we uninstalled the program, it did leave an empty folder in our Start Menu. However, if you don't mind surrendering your computer for an hour or so, this is a worthy tool for preventing file recovery.
