{"id":10268,"date":"2019-01-08T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2019-01-08T17:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.privateinternetaccess.com\/blog\/?p=10268"},"modified":"2024-01-25T07:08:43","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T15:08:43","slug":"how-to-permanently-delete-files-in-windows-with-cipher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privateinternetaccess.com\/blog\/how-to-permanently-delete-files-in-windows-with-cipher\/","title":{"rendered":"How to permanently delete files in Windows with Cipher"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you delete a file in Windows, all it really does, is delete an entry in the master file table that tells the computer where the actual file is stored.\u00a0 Without permanently deleting it, the file could potentially be recovered at a later date.<\/p>\n

Cipher is a built-in secure detection tool that has been present in Windows since Windows XP was released and is available with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 10. Cipher will securely overwrite all the data in a specific drive or folder which has been deleted. It will not delete data that you still use, so be sure to delete the files you want to get rid of before running Cipher.<\/p>\n

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  1. Open Windows Command Prompt.<\/b>\u00a0An easy way to do this, is to press the Windows key (or the Start button) to bring up the Windows menu and search, then type \u201cCommand Prompt\u201d.\u00a0 Since you need administrative rights, Right-Click on the Command Prompt app icon, and click \u201cRun as administrator\u201d.\n

    \"open<\/a><\/p><\/li>\n

  2. Type cipher \/w and a path<\/strong> you want to delete\u00a0and press Enter<\/strong>.\u00a0 There should be NO space after \/W, like this:\n

    \"Cipher\"<\/a><\/p><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Let\u2019s break that command down a little:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n