Member Avatar for drowssaP

I have to turn my labtop in to be fixed (that's another story) and the guy who's doing it is a friend of my family. Anyway, there are some websites I've been to that I'd rather he not find about, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I deleted the history, internet files, caches, cookies, etc. Then to be extra-careful I put everything through Windows Washer set to rewrite 10 times and then also through CCleaner on max settings. So, am I pretty safe now?

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Short answer: casual inspection by a friend is unlikely to turn up much, but nothing the forum says guarantees that data is irrecoverable. is correct about the low risk from a non‑technical check; is too confident if a forensic toolset is brought to bear; and ’s idea to search the disk is exactly the sort of thing an examiner would do.

Where traces commonly remain (and therefore what an examiner will look for): deleted file fragments in unallocated space and MFT slack; system files such as the pagefile and hibernation file; Volume Shadow Copies / System Restore points; registry MRU entries and prefetch/thumbnail caches; and any backups or alternate profile copies. NIST’s media‑sanitization guidance explains why simple deletion or a browser “clear history” is often insufficient (NIST SP 800‑88). Microsoft documents the Role of shadow copies and system snapshots that can hold old data ().

Practical options before handing a machine for repair (ordered roughly from strongest to weakest):

  • Best guarantees: remove the drive, or run a manufacturer/ATA Secure Erase (or cryptographic erase). For future use, use full‑disk encryption (BitLocker) so physical access doesn’t expose prior activity (BitLocker overview).
  • If removing the drive isn’t possible and an OS reinstall isn’t desired, image the disk first and then wipe free space and snapshots. Common admin commands used for this (must be run elevated) include:
powercfg -h off
vssadmin delete shadows /for=C: /all
sdelete -z C:

cipher /w:C: is an alternative native command. sdelete is available from Sysinternals (SDelete). Note: these overwrite free space on HDDs but are unreliable on many SSDs because of wear‑leveling — use secure erase or vendor tools for SSDs.

Caveats: these actions can remove restore points and system data; imaging first preserves evidence if needed later. If absolute certainty is required, physical destruction or a verified secure‑erase method is the only safe option.

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Member Avatar for jbennet

unless he is sophisticated that aught to be fine.

might want to run ATF cleaner too (google for it)

Member Avatar for amaynew

LOL he wouldnt recover anything unless he wants to find something that was deleted in your computer. In all means ur absolutely safe .

Member Avatar for HoustonIT

You could do some quick searches on your hard drive and in the registry, for keywords related to the websites you were visiting.

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