Protecting Files and Documents

I recently read an article that stated the number one browser search in Washington, D.C., for the last week of January 2025 was for BleachBit. BleachBit is an open-source PC cleaning tool for Windows and Linux operating systems. The BleachBit shred feature allows you to overwrite files and documents multiple times, making them difficult to restore or recover. Why would people in our Capitol need to destroy files?

Of course, there may be legitimate reasons that lawmakers and bureaucrats want to hide specific files. We all have files that need protecting. But even the most naive have to admit the timing seems suspicious. Regardless of what our so-called leaders are up to, programs like BleachBit and many others serve a valuable purpose.

Cleaning tools like BleachBit, CCleaner, Glary Utilities, and the built-in Windows disk cleanup remove left-over files on your hard drive. Cleaning keeps your PC running smoothly and frees up space on your hard drive. Removing unwanted files left behind during PC use may reduce the risk of malware and virus infection.

CCleaner offers an option to wipe or overwrite free space on a drive, while BleachBit, Glary Utilities, and Eraser can also target specific files and folders for overwrite. File shredding is simply overwriting the file with random 1's and 0's. Overwrite a file enough times, and it becomes impossible to restore.

As individual users, we may have files that we want to destroy on our PC. Health documents, tax forms, private photos, and others come to mind. We don't want other users to see this information, but destroying files is not our only option. We can encrypt files and folders to protect their contents.

Software like Bitlocker, VeraCrypt, DiskCryptor, and others can encrypt an entire drive or volume. Follow the instructions carefully, or you may lose access to your data. Programs like 7zip, Cryptomator, Encrypto, and others allow you to encrypt individual files or folders on your PC. Programs like this protect files before sending or uploading to the cloud.

We may not have as much to hide as a Washington D.C. Bureaucrat, but we still have data worth protecting.