The shred command is a Linux command that can be used to securely delete files. It does this by overwriting the file data with random data, making it impossible to recover the original data.
Here are some examples of how to use the shred command:
# To securely delete the file `file.txt`:
shred file.txt
# To securely delete the file `file.txt` and overwrite it 3 times:
shred -n 3 file.txt
# To securely delete the file `file.txt` and force the overwrite, even if the file is open:
shred -f file.txt
# To securely delete the file `file.txt` and zero out the file data after overwriting it:
shred -z file.txt
The shred command is a powerful tool that can be used to securely delete files. It is a simple command to use, but it can be very effective.
help
shred [options] files
Securely delete files by overwriting them multiple times.
Options:
-n, --iterations=N overwrite each file N times (default 3)
-f, --force force overwrite even if the file is open
-z, --zero zero out the file data after overwriting it
-u, --unlink unlink the file after overwriting it
-v, --verbose print progress information
-h, --help show this help message
For more information, see the shred man page.
breakdown
-n: This option tells shred to overwrite the file data a specified number of times. The default is 3 times.
-f: This option tells shred to force the overwrite, even if the file is open.
-z: This option tells shred to zero out the file data after overwriting it.
-u: This option tells shred to unlink the file after overwriting it.
-v: This option tells shred to print progress information.