Wiper has the ability to completely erase (“wipe” clean) the following areas of your drive:
- Your currently used space
- “Disk0” - This region of your drive contains usable and operational files, including your operating system, saved files, applications, etc. In disk cleaner, the check boxes allow you to select a specific file or folder to wipe (so you can securely erase unwanted files or folders).
- Other disc names (e.g. “Disk1”) - These drives may contain usable and operational files also. The check boxes allow you to select a specific file or folder to wipe (so you can securely erase unwanted files or folders).
- Your currently unused space (shown as “Free space”) - This space is not being used to store operational files (and includes unused space on all installed drives). These areas may contain data (e.g. from previously deleted files), but this data is not necessary for the proper function of your files or your computer.
So, if you wipe “Disk0” or some other drive, you will erase all the files and folders on that drive (including any installed operating system). If you wipe “free space”, it should erase only the space that your drive is not using.
So, be careful which option you select! Make sure you select only the items you want to permanently erase!