Delete Photos
Did you know that copies of images that you view on the Internet are stored locally on your PC? This includes logos, images found in ads, images embedded in websites, and more. Even if you don’t choose to download them, they end up cluttering your hard drive.
This is done without your knowledge or consent in the name of enhancing your Internet browsing experience. By storing local copies of images, your next visit to a website will be more pleasant because the PC doesn’t have to works so hard to load the page. It simply retrieves locally stored versions of the images and displays them. The result is a faster page load.
The downside to this is that your PC stores all these pictures on its hard drive both cluttering the drive with unwanted files and exposing others to inappropriate images. For example, if you’ve visited an adult website, inappropriate images will remain on your PC just waiting to be discovered by anyone who has access to your computer. This could be a boss, a spouse or even one of your children.
You can delete photos and destroy pictures left behind by deleting your temporary Internet files but this is not a complete solution. For example, tools are readily available to the average computer user to restore and repair image files, dig up recent history, recover deleted data and more. Even if you delete photos and empty the Windows Recycle Bin, it is still possible for someone to find and recover the image.
Let’s say someone sent you an email with a photo attached. If you delete the photo after viewing it, and empty the Recycle Bin, you’d think the photo was gone for good, right? Wrong! Unless you use a tool designed to permanently delete the photo, it can be recovered.
If you want to destroy pictures once and for all, you need a heavy duty tool to completely and thoroughly shred your files. These tools are generally easy to use and usually come with safeguards so that you don’t accidentally erase the wrong material.
Another feature you should look for is the ability to automate the deletion of temporary Internet files through regularly scheduled scans. This will help keep your computer’s hard drive less cluttered and will also help you maintain your privacy.
We like software eraser programs that allow you greater control of your privacy, are easy to use, provide safeguards, run in “stealth” mode, and thoroughly remove all web tracks including cookies, temporary files, saved form data, address bar entries and Internet search entries.
We also like eraser tools that will completely wipe a hard drive clean if you so desire. This is important when you are finished with a computer or a hard drive because identity thieves love to get their hands on old PCs and mine financial data from their drives. You can beat the thieves by completely wiping your hard drive clean.
After much testing, our top three picks are:
- ParetoLogic’s Privacy Controls
- Evidence Eliminator
- WinClear
Any of these products will help you delete photos for good as well as provide you with a comprehensive privacy solution.
