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Deleting files under Windows 2000


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Hello,

I am hoping you can help me resolve a matter I have been discussing with others here. We have been discussing the process of how files are deleted and then restored under Win/2k verses Internet Explorer. It is my position:

Win/2k

1. A document or file is delete either on purpose or by accident. It is then placed in the recycle bin.

2. If the recycle bin is cleared - the file to the "average" person is permanently deleted.

3. External tools to Win/2k (i.e. restore2000) can then be used to "restore" the deleted document. Win/2k natively does not have a tool to restore a document or file once the recycle bin has been cleared.

Internet Explorer

1. IE keeps track of usage via history and if you will cookies. Also, any file downloaded is placed in the temporary internet file.

2. You can clear history, cookies and the temporary internet files. Once cleared, there isn't anyway to track usage under IE.

Network files

1. Network files are permanently deleted. If they need to be restored, you should go to the backup tapes.

I would appreciate feedback on my position and additional clarification from all of you out there. I want to make sure I understand the whole process.

Thanks

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Im having a bit of difficulty trying to figure out what your question is? If you are talking simply privacy matters, when you move files to the recycle bin if they are of personal nature use Eraser, a free tool, to permanately delete the files. Your comments on IE and Network Shares ring true as long as when you get rid of the drives they are wiped.

Hello,

I am hoping you can help me resolve a matter I have been discussing with others here. We have been discussing the process of how files are deleted and then restored under Win/2k verses Internet Explorer. It is my position:

Win/2k

1. A document or file is delete either on purpose or by accident. It is then placed in the recycle bin.

2. If the recycle bin is cleared - the file to the "average" person is permanently deleted.

3. External tools to Win/2k (i.e. restore2000) can then be used to "restore" the deleted document. Win/2k natively does not have a tool to restore a document or file once the recycle bin has been cleared.

Internet Explorer

1. IE keeps track of usage via history and if you will cookies. Also, any file downloaded is placed in the temporary internet file.

2. You can clear history, cookies and the temporary internet files. Once cleared, there isn't anyway to track usage under IE.

Network files

1. Network files are permanently deleted. If they need to be restored, you should go to the backup tapes.

I would appreciate feedback on my position and additional clarification from all of you out there. I want to make sure I understand the whole process.

Thanks

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Thanks for the reply Rjdohnert. Looking back at what I posted I was a little vague. The question is - when you delete a document and then clear the recyle bin, the document is gone for good - right? Unless you use a third party tool to retrieve the document - as long as the space on the drive it occupied has not been written over.

All this came about due to a small agrument I had with two managers at the office. They remember a prior employee deleting unauthorized pictures he had downloaded from the web. When they went to research the matter on his PC, they were able to get those pictures back.

I am trying to tell them they are comparing two different things - especially considering the version of IE they were using at that time. I am trying to tell them that Microsoft does not have a retrieve/repair/undo option once the recycle bin is cleared. That was the retrieve/repair/undo option which the person on that PC knew good and well which is why she cleared it after deleting those documents.

If I am wrong on this - please let me know. I would hate to admit I was wrong to these particular managers, but if I must I must.

Thanks again....

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I'm too having a problem to understand... Look if i'm correct :

Most operating systems (including windows) does never delete the file's data from the disk, they only clear the allocation tables, so it's always possible to retrieve the data unless something else was written on it. (yes, you need external tools)

Internet Explorer data (cache, cookies, history) are normal files (if seen from the OS), and can be restored the same way (except IE relies on "index.dat" files that gets overwritten, so restored files can not be seen by IE).

Network files... i'm not sure what you're labelling so. It works like for floppies (or remote device), files don't go to a "recycle bin" but data is not overwritten.

I don't know what is an "average" person (average relies on what is your office), but i would say you're true and your managers are bloody curious...

++

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