
Eraser version 1.0 (October 01, 1998)
Copyright (C) 1997-1998 EAST Technologies, Inc.
All Rights Reserved


Introduction
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EVERYONE has sensitive information that would like to protect from
falling into the wrong hands. Eraser makes sure that when you delete
confidential data, nobody will be able to restore it, even if a disk
utility or a hardware recovery tool is used! Eraser completely
destroys files, folders with all their subfolders and files, wipes
the files slack and the disks free space. You need to use Eraser to
destroy your sensitive data because normal deletion is not secure!

Eraser does a very good job at destroying data beyond recovery. Its
extensive erasing capabilities make sure that not even a trace remains
after erasing a file or folder. Eraser has a lot of wipe (overwrite)
methods, differing in speed and security. The fastest ones offer
normal security while the slower ones match the specifications of the
U.S. Department of Defence and can even stop hardware recovery tools.
Advanced features like verifying each wipe pass and each disk
operation allow Eraser to intercept any failures and inform you if a
file wasn't successfully erased.

Features like the possibility of collecting multiple file
specifications (e.g. *.tmp) turn Eraser into a clean-up utility. The
command line parameters allow you to insert erasing/wiping commands
to your BAT files and then run this BAT file automatically using
Windows 95 SystemAgent or other scheduling software. Eraser is very
easy to use and has a very intuitive interface. Offers tight
integration w/the Windows 95 shell (drag and drop).


Installation
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VERY IMPORTANT: Changes have been made to the installation kit, so
you should uninstall any previous beta versions of Eraser before
installing this final 1.0 version in order to remove any old files
stored in the application directory.

Eraser is normally distributed inside a ZIP archive through online
services. Unzip the distribution files into a temporary directory.
Run the SETUP.EXE program by selecting Start/Run in Windows 95.
The setup program will prompt you for a destination directory
(C:\Program Files\Eraser is default) and will create an Eraser
program group. You may remove the setup files from the temporary
directory after the installation is complete. An uninstall utility
is included with Eraser to remove the program from your system.

NOTE: Eraser requires version 4.70 or later of COMCTL32.DLL. This
file usually resides in the WINDOWS\SYSTEM or WINDOWS\SYSTEM32
directory. If you have an older version of COMCTL32.DLL, you may get
an error message when you run Eraser. Please visit our Download page
on our Web site (http://www.east-tec.com) to find out where you can
download the latest version of COMCTL32.DLL.

If you experience problems during the installation please contact:

EAST Technologies, Inc.
9 Miron Pompiliu Street
3700 Oradea
Romania

Phone/Fax:      +40-59-126586
World Wide Web: http://www.east-tec.com
E-Mail:         eraser@east-tec.com


What's new in this version (version 1.0 final)
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A new, improved progress box (new features: overall progress indicator
& estimated time): The progress box (the dialog box that is displayed
while Eraser is erasing/wiping) was added an overall progress indicator 
that shows the percent of files/folders/drives that was already 
erased/wiped. A panel displays the elapsed time as well as the 
estimated time (the estimated time is updated every second).

Improved erasing/wiping routines, improved error-handling, better 
logging capabilities, improved support for large FAT32 drives

Drive erasing: Eraser now accepts drives in the list with items to be 
erased, therefore you may erase drives with all their files and folders.
USE THIS FEATURE WITH CARE!

Many improvements in the interface:
- The wipe options are now displayed in a page of the Erase Options
dialog box (the Wipe Options dialog box no longer exists - changing
erase settings is now easier and faster as there is only one dialog box
that displays erase options).
- The current wipe method is now displayed in the status bar
(double-clicking the wipe method status bar section will open the
Erase Options dialog box on the Wipe Options page)
- The drives list from the Wipe Free Space dialog box displays the 
amount of free space on each drive.

Improvements in the documentation, new topics in the on-line Help
(including a Frequently Asked Questions section), a new file SURVEY.TXT
(user survey form) added to the package, a better ReadMe file, etc.

Improved command-line support, new command-line parameters

Windows Shell (Explorer) Integration: A new command (Erase beyond
recovery) to the Explorer context menu of any file or folder and a new
command (Wipe disk free space) to the Explorer context menu of drives.
As a result, you will be able to destroy files/folders beyond recovery
from Explorer: just select any number of files or folders, right-click
and from the context menu choose Erase beyond recovery. You will also
be able to wipe the free space on any drive from My Computer or Explorer:
just select any number of drives, right-click and from the context menu
choose Wipe disk free space. (registered versions only)