Why Data Recovery Software Shows File Names of Data Wiped with BitRaser File Eraser software?

BitRaser File Eraser is a secure file eraser and privacy-safeguarding software that implements international data erasure standards to destroy sensitive files and data from Windows and Mac devices beyond the scope of recovery.

A file erased with the help of BitRaser File Eraser can’t be recovered through any data recovery software or services, including forensic tools.

However, you may see file names recovered after running data recovery scan on an NTFS, FAT16/FAT32, exFAT, HFS, and HFS+ formatted drives.

Here’s why this happens…

When data from a Mac or Windows drive is erased by using BitRaser File Eraser, the software destroys actual data from the physical location on the disk as per the selected international data erasure standard. But it may not necessarily erase ‘File Attributes’ such as file name.

This isn’t a fault of the software, rather a limitation or security feature of a few file systems such as FAT16/32/exFAT, NTFS, HFS,and HFS+.

Following are the reasons why you may see the names of files erased with BitRaser File Eraser after a data recovery scan:

      1.  FAT32/FAT16/exFAT: When you copy data into FAT formatted drive, the File Attributes such as File Name, Identifier, Type, Location, Size, etc. of copied data is entered in the File Allocation Table (FAT).

When you use BitRaser File Eraser to secure erase files from FAT16/32/exFAT formatted drive, the software overwrites the actual data and destroys it beyond recovery from the drive. But the file attributes remain intact in the File Allocation Table, which can be retrieved by a data recovery software.

       2.  NTFS, HFS, and HFS+:  NTFS, HFS, and HFS+ file systems maintains a log, or journal, of all the activities that take place on the file. So, when you copy a file in NTFS, HFS, or HFS+ drive, a record with file name and other details is also saved in the log.

Unlike the FAT file system, when BitRaser File Eraser erases data from an NTFS, HFS, or HFS+ formatted drive, it also overwrites the file attributes. But the log file (journal) remains intact.

As a result, a data recovery software does nothing but retrieves the log records containing transaction details, which includes file names, and displays them in the data recovery scan results.

If you try to preview or recover the files erased by using BitRaser File Eraser, the files won’t preview or recover because the data on the drive is securely overwritten with pseudo-random values and verified as per the selected international data erasure standard