Active@ KillDisk 11.0.93

Overview

There are many tools that you can use to destroy data on hard drives and storage devices, however they differ in terms of simplicity, speed, efficiency and a few other factors. Active@ Killdisk is a program for this purpose and is recommended to those who want a guarantee that their files won’t be recovered in the future. Features include 17 deletion methods, erasing of multiple drives at the same time, free space wiping and saving of detailed reports after every task.

Installation

The installation procedure consists of only two steps therefore it won’t tire you with difficult settings and such. The main process finishes quickly as well, and when it does you have the options to either launch the program or launch Bootable Disk Creator (DOS). The setup package is clean from malicious items and doesn’t install any additional software either (e.g. toolbars).

Supported operating systems are Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, Server 2000, Server 2003, DOS, Linux and Unix for PC.

Interface

You can choose between two themes: a Light one, which is more similar to a typical program’s interface, and a Dark one, which is more modern and stylish. The organization of the features and buttons stays the same however regardless of the skin you pick. At the top is the toolbar with various buttons (Refresh, Scan, Wipe, Kill, Preview, Properties and Settings) and below you can see a few panes, some of which you can hide and unhide using the buttons in the toolbar. The first pane displays all system storage devices and the second pane displays all included partitions in the selected device. The third and last pane is the Properties window and shows information regarding the selected disk. At the bottom is a horizontal pane that logs all actions performed with Active@ KillDisk.

Pros

There are 17 deletion methods, each one being more secure than the other. Those include One Pass, (1 pass), US DoD 5220.22-M (ECE) (7 passes, verify), Russian GOST p50739-95 (2 passes, verify) and Gutmann (35 passes, verify). Among them is an option that lets you define your own customized erasing pattern.

The Wipe Free Space feature securely overwrites free space so that even if there are traces of files deleted in the past they can’t be recovered anyways.

You can see a Hex Preview of your disks by clicking on the “Preview” button located in the toolbar.

After a cleanup session has been completed you can see a detailed report of the task, which contains information regarding the disk and task as well as errors that may have occurred throughout the process (e.g. bad clusters). A certificate is also saved as a PDF file, which in essence certifies the use of KillDisk on the current disk. Afterwards the log file can be sent as an email and the certificate can be attached to it.

Cons

No cons here.

Alternatives

Some of the best deletion programs are: Eraser (free), BCWipe (paid), WipeDisk (paid), O&O SafeErase (paid), DriveScrubber (paid) and HDD Wipe Tool (free).

Conclusion

Great data wiping program. It is trustworthy and very easy to handle, without bugs or any issues. Highly recommended.