Sometimes it is necessary to not only delete, but shred confidential files. As shredding files makes it impossible to recover deleted files and ensures privacy protection. While there are many useful file shredding applications for Windows, such as ProtectStart Data Shredder (which shreds data according to military grade), there is a shortage of reliable file shredding mechanisms in Linux. Shred File Script is a Linux script, which allows shredding files from the right-click context menu in Ubuntu and other Linux distributions.
To use this script, download and extract the the compressed package from the link given at the end of this post. Then head over to the Home folder and reveal hidden files and folders by using the CTRL+H hotkey. Now, copy and paste the Shred File script to the following path: .Gnome 2 –> Nautilus Scripts.
Once done, the script will be automatically added to the Ubuntu right-click menu. To shred a file, right-click on it and select Scripts –> Shred File.
This will display a confirmation prompt, asking if you would like to remove the selected file. Click Yes to remove the file. The confirmation prompt can be quite useful to avoid accidental deletion of important data, as a shredded files and folders are normally not recoverable and even if they are recovered, the data is too badly damaged to be of any use.
It is highly advised that you do not use the “Shred File Script”on files like DEV or HDA. The script is fully compatible with the latest Ubuntu versions including, Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot. In case you have any issues after immediately placing the script to the Nautilus directory, then log off or restart your system and log back in. For more information and to download the script, refer to the link below.
