Active@ KillDisk vs Alternate File Shredder

Active@ KillDisk permanently erases data from HDDs, SSDs, NVMe disks, USB drives and other storage media. It is available for Windows, Linux and macOS, with bootable media for Windows PE, Linux and console environments. The product lists more than 25 sanitization standards, including NIST 800-88 and DoD 5220.22-M. The freeware edition uses only the One Pass Zeros method, allows two parallel erases and lacks batch scripting and post-erase verification. Paid editions list erase verification, resuming interrupted erases, PDF certificates and XML reports; professional editions also list batch scripting that can run without user interaction. Some editions include low-level ATA Secure Erase for SSDs. The comparison also lists remote monitoring and HTTP process control through a Web Service, plus export of operation journals to external databases. Personal Professional costs $64.95, paid once; Personal Suite costs $79.95, paid once. Commercial and site licenses have separate listed prices. The maker describes the tool for home users, businesses, IT departments, recyclers, refurbishers, government and healthcare organizations, among others.

Alternate File Shredder is a free Windows program for permanently deleting files and folders. It can also overwrite a drive’s free space to reduce the chance of recovering files that were previously deleted. For overwrite patterns, users can choose a specific value, random values, or file content. It does not wipe entire drives or schedule shredding tasks. The maker describes the program as freeware and open source. Its listed systems are Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, 11, and Server;.NET Framework 2.0 is required, and the page says it has been included with Windows since Vista. The maker lists 20 languages, including English, German, Spanish, French, Chinese, and Japanese. The listed version is 3.100, dated 13.02.2026, and the freeware plan costs nothing. The maker warns that users run the program at their own risk and should take care when selecting files to delete. A contact form is available for messages.