Secure Delete Sandbox

Secure Delete Sandbox

Typical file deletion makes data inaccessible to the operating system and programs, but the data is not physically wiped from the hard drive storage medium, and may be recovered by by a data recovery technician. To make this recovery more difficult, third-party software exists that can perform a secure deletion. This is typically accomplished by overwriting the data multiple times before deleting it.

For more information, see Data remanence in Wikipedia.

By default, Sandboxie deletes the sandbox using a standard Windows command to delete folders -- RMDIR. This makes sure the contents of the sandbox (including malicious software) are properly removed from the operating system. But as mentioned above, it leaves the data vulnerable to inspection and recovery by forensics experts.

People who are concerned about the privacy of their sensitive data can plug a third-party secure deletion utility into Sandboxie, to be used instead of the standard command.

You can configure a custom delete command through Sandboxie Control or by manually editing the Sandboxie Ini configuration file.

In Sandboxie Control

Use Sandbox Settings > Delete > Command. A couple of examples for the Delete Command:

  • Invoke Eraser by Heidi Computers to delete the contents securely:

    %SystemRoot%\System32\eraserl.exe -folder "%SANDBOX%" -subfolders -method DoD_E -resultsonerror -queue

  • Invoke SDelete by SysInternals/Microsoft to delete the contents securely.

    "C:\Program Files\Sysinternals\SDelete\sdelete.exe" -p 3 -s -q "%SANDBOX%"

In the Sandboxie.ini Configuration File

To configure a custom delete command for a particular sandbox, edit or insert the DeleteCommand setting in the sandbox section of Sandboxie Ini.

To configure a global custom delete command, edit or insert the DeleteCommand setting in the [GlobalSettings] section of Sandboxie Ini.

When specifying this setting, make sure to include "%SANDBOX%" (with quote marks) in the command.

Before launching the delete command, Sandboxie scans the sandbox to make sure all files can be properly deleted, as described in Delete Contents of Sandbox.

Go to Help Topics.