Active KillDisk is a quality security application that destroys data permanently from any computer that can be started using a DOS bootable floppy disk, USB Flash or CD-ROM. Access to the drive's data is made on the physical level via the Basic Input-Output Subsystem (BIOS), bypassing the operating systems logical drive structure organization. Regardless of the operating system, file systems or type of machine, this utility can destroy all data on all storage devices. Thus it does not matter operating systems and file systems located on the machine, it can be DOS, Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT/2000/2003/XP, Linux, Unix for PC. Active KillDisk Professional conforms to US Department of Defense clearing and sanitizing standard DoD 5220.22-M. You can be sure that once you wipe a disk with Active KillDisk, sensitive information is destroyed forever.

A few minor complaints aside, this free file shredder is by and large a solid find. Eraser's all-business interface won't win any design awards, but it's mostly convenient to use, allowing you to add files or folders to be deleted via drag-and-drop transfers. However, since the program lacks a dedicate deletion button or icon, you'll have to dig through the menu items to actually erase data. This misstep is somewhat negated by the fact that Eraser integrates into the Windows' context menu, letting you shred files via a right click. We're glad to see the program lets you choose from four secure government-sanctioned deletion algorithms, and we appreciate the inclusion of a scheduler, handy for routinely wiping free disk space.