Number 246 - November 2003

Delete a Message Bypassing the Trash in Outlook Express
by Heinz Tschabitscher, as seen at About.com
When I spot a message with a suspiciously looking attachment in Outlook Express, I want it gone, gone, gone from my computer. So I hit the Del key, only to find Outlook Express put the malicious email in the trash instead of immediately getting rid of it completely. This is a nice safety net, but sometimes I want to delete without a net.    To delete a message immediately bypassing the Recycle Bin in Outlook Express: Hold down the Shift key while pressing Del. Be careful with this shortcut, though, since your message won't be recoverable once deleted this way.	Toggle Editor's Note:    Wait a minute! It's still there on your hard disk. The Recycle Bin retains enough information to restore it if you change your mind. Using the above technique you have removed more of the address of the first data block so that the directory manager and Recycle Bin can't find it. But a very knowledgeable and persistent snoop might read or retrieve its contents. Hard to imagine but why take a chance with sensitive material. To truly get rid of a file get a copy of the freeware utility BCWipe from our librarian. That little gem is used by the DoD and overwrites the "deleted" files several times obliterating it.
Number 246 - November 2003