Normally when you delete a file from your computer, it is not actually deleted. Rather, what's deleted is the shortcut to the file, while the content of the file itself is kept on your computer. This means that the file can be recovered, until such a time that your computer decides to overwrite the file with new data.
While this can be good in situations where you accidentally delete a file and want to recover it, it is not good in cases where you actually do want to delete a file permanently. If a file is not completely removed from the computer, someone else might restore a file that you thought was removed from your computer.
Ponder this scenario: You have a computer you have been using faithfully for years. But then you find a really good Black Friday deal on a new computer, which you decide to purchase. You decide to move over all of your files to your new computer, and then delete the files on your old computer. As you no longer need your old computer, you decide to get rid of it. Either sell it, give it away, or throw it away.
The new owner of your computer then download a program to restore old files on your computer. In the best case, it might not be anything incriminating—just a bunch of old photos—but do you still want a complete stranger to have access to those?
In the worst case, it might be something of real value Not necessarily anything bad, but still something you don't want to share with others. A file with passwords to some important accounts, social security numbers, sensitive documents for a client. Regardless of what they are, they might not be files you wish to share with someone else.
With the Total Cleaner Incinerator Extension, you can permanently delete the files. When a file gets incinerated, it doesn't just remove the pointer to the file—it overwrites and scrambles the file with junk data, making it impossible for anyone to restore.
How to activate the Incinerator Extension
Before you can incinerate a file, you first need to activate the Incinerator Extension in Total Cleaner.
Click on the down arrow > Toolbox on the main window of Total Cleaner.
Next, click on Incinerator Extension, and then toggle the Incinerator Extension to Enabled.
Incinerating files
With the incinerator activated, you can now start incinerating files.
To incinerate a file, locate the file you want to incinerate, and then right-click it.
You will get two new options for the file: Send to Incinerator, and Incinerate now.
Send to Incinerator: This option will send the file(s) to a new kind of trash bin, called the Incinerator. These files are not immediately deleted, but requires you to open the Incinerator in order to delete them. This gives you a chance to go over the files and change your mind about deleting them.
Incinerate now: This will immediately incinerate the files. This action is not revocable.
Files can either be incinerated one at a time, or in bulk.