Securely Deleting Files in Linux - Command Line and GUI Methods

[nerdslife_team]

Hey everyone, let’s talk about securely deleting files in Linux. It’s super important to make sure sensitive data is really gone and can’t be recovered easily. Just hitting delete isn’t always enough! Here are some ways to make sure your files are gone for good, using both the command line and GUI tools.

Command Line Methods for Secure Deletion

Method 1: Using srm

The srm command is part of the secure-delete package and is your best bet for truly deleting files. It overwrites the file multiple times, making recovery very, very difficult.

To get srm on Debian/Ubuntu-based systems, use:

sudo apt install secure-delete

For older Ubuntu versions (14.04 and below) , use apt-get instead of apt.

On Red Hat distros, you’d do this:

yum install secure-delete

To securely delete a folder and its contents recursively:

srm -r foldername/

The -r flag ensures that the directories and all their content are securely deleted.

Method 2: Using shred

The shred command is another way to overwrite files with random data. It makes it really hard to recover what was there before.

To overwrite a file:

shred filename

By default, shred overwrites the file three times, but you can choose how many times you’d like it to overwrite.

To overwrite it 10 times, for example:

shred -n 10 filename

shred only overwrites the file’s data. It doesn’t delete it by default. To actually remove the file after overwriting, you can do this:

shred -n 10 --remove filename

Note that shred doesn’t have a recursive option. It’s mostly for individual files.

Method 3: Using rm

The rm command is the basic way to remove files in Linux. It just removes the directory entries for a file, which makes the file inaccessible, but the actual data may still be on the drive. It can be recovered using specialized tools. Use it for non-sensitive files.

To delete one or more files:

rm file1 file2 /home/user/file3

To delete directories and their content, use the -r flag:

rm -r dir1 /home/user/dir2 file3

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GUI Tools for Secure File Deletion

Method 1: Using Nautilus with a Secure Delete Option

Nautilus, which is the file manager in many Linux distros, has an option for a permanent delete that bypasses the trash.

1. Open Nautilus and find the files or folders you want to delete.
   
   
2. Select the file(s) or folder(s) and hit Shift + Delete.
   
   
3. A confirmation box will pop up; click “Delete” to remove them permanently.

To add a Delete option to the right-click context menu:

1. Go to “Edit” > “Preferences” in Nautilus.
2. Select the “Behavior” tab.
3. Check the box that says “Include a Delete command that bypasses Trash.”
   
   This will add “Delete” to the right-click menu so you can delete files without using the keyboard shortcuts.
   
   

Method 2: Using Nautilus Scripts for Secure Deletion

You can also create custom scripts for Nautilus to integrate commands like srm.

1. Open your terminal and go to the Nautilus scripts directory:

   cd ~/.local/share/nautilus/scripts/
   

2. Create a new script called Secure_Delete:

   vim Secure_Delete
   

3. Add these lines to the script:

   #!/bin/bash
   srm -r $NAUTILUS_SCRIPT_SELECTED_FILE_PATHS
   

   The $NAUTILUS_SCRIPT_SELECTED_FILE_PATHS variable gives the paths of whatever you have selected in Nautilus.

4. Save the file and exit the editor (in vim, hit ESC, then type :wq).

5. Make the script executable:

   chmod +x Secure_Delete
   

6. Now, in Nautilus, right click on a file or folder, go to “Scripts”, and select “Secure_Delete” to use the srm command.
   

   

You can make similar scripts for shred or other secure delete tools. There are also GUI tools like Nautilus Wipe and BleachBit which provide more complete GUI options for file deletion.

Remember that while these methods are very effective, there’s always a very, very small chance that data might be recovered with extremely specialized techniques. If you have really sensitive information, you might need to physically destroy the storage device, for example by incinerating the drive at high temperatures.