Secure file shredder for Windows
Deleted files linger on the drive until something else is saved over them. Vow File Shredder overwrites them, renames them and reads the last pass back to prove it worked, before you sell, donate or recycle a PC or drive. Everything happens on your PC.
The problem
Deleting a file doesn't erase it. Until something else is written over it, recovery software can often bring it straight back.
Files you delete and empty from the Recycle Bin linger on the drive until something else is saved over them.
Tax papers, scanned IDs and family photos go along with an old PC or drive unless they are overwritten first.
Many tools never read the disk back, so all you have is a progress bar and a hope.
35-pass wipes sold as the answer for every drive, when an SSD needs different advice altogether.
Erasure certificates are usually reserved for enterprise products with enterprise prices.
A shredder that follows a folder link or accepts a system folder can take far more than you meant.
Vow File Shredder fixes all of it.
How it works
One button, one confirmation, and the last pass is read back from the disk to prove it.
Drag them in, paste with Ctrl+V or right-click in Explorer. Drive roots, Windows and Program Files are marked protected and skipped.
One pass of random data, read back, is already chosen. Pick DoD 3-pass, DoD 7-pass, Gutmann or any of the 14 methods if you prefer.
One confirmation shows how many files and how much data will go. Each file is overwritten, renamed, its dates scrubbed, then deleted.
Features
For anyone selling, donating or recycling a PC, a hard drive or a USB stick.
Random, Zeros, Australian ISM, GOST, HMG IS5, DoD 3-pass, AFSSI-5020, DoD ECE 7-pass, RCMP, VSITR, NATO, Schneier, Pfitzner, Gutmann and custom passes.
The last pass, or every pass, is read back from the disk and compared, so you know the overwrite really happened.
File slack to the end of the last cluster, NTFS alternate data streams, names and dates are wiped, and tiny MFT-resident files too.
Overwrite a drive's empty space, free MFT records included, so files deleted long ago can't be recovered. Your files stay.
Every sector of a second disk or USB drive, end to end, with its volumes locked and read back. The Windows disk is refused.
Sealed PDF and HTML certificates with a SHA-256 fingerprint, your organisation and technician, and a check that detects any edit.
SSDs are detected and get plain advice: one pass plus TRIM, and the maker's Secure Erase for a full purge.
Drive roots, Windows, Program Files and profile roots are refused; links and junctions are removed, never followed.
A locked file says "In use by WINWORD.EXE" instead of a vague error, so you know exactly what to close.
Shred the Recycle Bin on every drive in one click, or right-click any file and choose Shred with Vow File Shredder.
Light & dark theme
File Shredder comes with a crisp light theme and a calm dark theme. Switch with one click, or let it follow your Windows setting by itself. It remembers your choice.
Screenshots
Real screenshots of the real app, in both of its themes: 7 light, 7 dark. Click any picture to see it full size.
Light theme
Dark theme
Who it's for
Shred your files, wipe the free space, then let Windows' Clean data reset finish the job.
Wipe every sector of a second disk before it is sold, donated or recycled.
Shred scanned IDs, payslips and statements once you no longer need to keep them.
Remove your personal files so the next person to use the PC can't recover them.
An erasure certificate with your organisation and technician for every job you do.
Shred sensitive downloads and the Recycle Bin instead of simply deleting them.
Compare
What typical file shredders and drive wipers leave out, side by side.
| Feature | Vow File Shredder | Typical shredder & wiper apps |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free every day, or $4.95 once | Yearly plans or enterprise pricing |
| Reads the disk back to verify | Yes, last pass or every pass | Rarely |
| Erasure certificates | Included in Unlimited | Usually enterprise-only |
| Plain advice for SSDs | One pass + TRIM, Secure Erase for a purge | Often "more passes" for every drive |
| Refuses Windows and system folders | Always | Not always |
| Never follows links or junctions | Never followed | Not always guaranteed |
| Names the program locking a file | Yes | A vague error |
| Ads and bundled extras | None, ever | Common on free downloads |
"Typical" describes what we found across the most-downloaded alternatives when we built File Shredder. Your mileage with any one of them may vary; ours won't.
Pricing
That is not a typo. Software this powerful usually means a monthly subscription; File Shredder is $4.95, once, for life: it's almost a giveaway. Use it free for as long as you like, and unlock Unlimited only if you need more.
25 items a day, all 14 erasure methods, read-back check.
Almost a giveaway. Less than a coffee for software this powerful: no subscription, no renewals, yours for life on 2 PCs.
Wipe free space and whole drives, erasure certificates, no limit.
Payments by Stripe: we never see or store your card. Questions? Ask a real person.
Clean software
Most "free" Windows downloads pay for themselves with ads, bundled extras or your data. Vow File Shredder doesn't need to: it's paid for honestly, once, by the people who find it useful.
Download File Shredder freeStep-by-step guide
Shred files and folders so no recovery tool can bring them back, in under a minute.
Step 1: get it freeDownload it from this page and run the installer. It needs no administrator rights and no account. Tick the Explorer option to get "Shred with Vow File Shredder" on right-click.
Drop files or folders on the window, press Ctrl+O, or paste with Ctrl+V. Folders are counted in the background, and protected places are marked and skipped.
Leave Quick & Secure (one pass of random data, read back) or pick DoD 3-pass, DoD 7-pass, Gutmann or another method from the list.
Press the Shred button or Ctrl+Enter. One confirmation shows how many files and how much data will be overwritten; press Shred now.
The Results card shows the method and the verification. With Unlimited, save an erasure certificate, or go on to wipe the drive's free space.
Technical details
FAQ
Yes. You can shred 25 files or folders a day for free, with all 14 erasure methods, read-back verification and Recycle Bin shredding. A folder counts once however many files it holds, and the count resets at midnight. Unlimited, a one-time $4.95 USD payment, removes the limit and adds free-space wiping, whole-drive wiping and erasure certificates.
Not with recovery tools on a hard disk. Each file is overwritten to the end of its last cluster, along with its alternate data streams, then renamed, its dates scrubbed and deleted, and the last pass is read back and compared. SSDs and USB flash work differently: see the next question.
Only partly, and the app says so plainly. SSDs and USB flash remap writes (wear levelling), so no software overwrite can reach the blocks the drive set aside. For SSDs it recommends one pass plus TRIM, and the maker's Secure Erase for a full SSD purge.
The default, one pass of random data with read-back, is enough on any modern drive. If a policy asks for a named standard, choose DoD 5220.22-M, DoD ECE 7-pass, Australian ISM, HMG IS5, GOST, AFSSI-5020, RCMP, VSITR, NATO, Schneier, Pfitzner or Gutmann's 35 passes.
No: Windows can't wipe the disk it runs from, so that disk is locked. Shred your files, wipe the free space, then use Windows' Reset this PC with Clean data, or take the disk out and wipe it here from another PC.
It is built not to. Drive roots, Windows, Program Files, ProgramData, Users, profile and AppData roots are refused, links and junctions are removed rather than followed, and every job asks for one clear confirmation. Whole-drive wipes also need ERASE typed.
A record of what was erased, how and when, saved as PDF and HTML with a SHA-256 fingerprint and optional organisation and technician names. Check a certificate in History detects any edit to a saved one. Certificates are part of Unlimited.
Yes. It is made and published by XTO Pty Ltd, an Australian company. There are no ads and no bundled software, it installs per user without administrator rights, and it uninstalls cleanly from Windows Settings, taking its Explorer menu entries with it.
The Vow collection
Same design, same promises, a tiny one-time price. Learn one and you already know them all.
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