Summary: Looking for a way to delete your email clients' data on the Windows system? Read this blog to learn the best method to erase email clients' data on Windows permanently. You can also buy a secure data erasure software, such as Stellar File Eraser to wipe email data beyond the recovery scope.
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Email client apps such as Outlook, Windows Mail, and several other utilities in Windows OS are used to access and manage multiple email accounts from one place. It avoids the hassle due to the need to sign on every time to access the email account, which is a real pain in case of accessing multiple accounts from different providers.
These apps store emails locally on a system and synchronize automatically with the online server as soon as the system connects to the internet. This means you can read and send emails even when you are offline.
However, this could be a serious threat to your privacy and information security. Here?s how!
Why Erase Email Clients Data on Windows?
Email client apps store your email history and data on the local system storage. Apps such as Outlook store email data in a file with .OST extension. This OST email file contains all your emails, attachments, conversations, calendars info, contacts and more.
Apparently, the OST file can be easily converted into a .PST email file, which can be imported to any Outlook account to access personal and confidential mails including attachments.
Similarly, other email client apps also store the email data in folders located in various directories.
One way to safeguard the email data is to encrypt the email file. Outlook has an encryption option that you can use. However, not all email client apps offer encryption feature. But you can manually delete these email files once you figure out the folder structure and locations used by the email client apps. However, this is a cumbersome job and doesn?t guarantee any protection as the deleted email files can be recovered.
Data recovery software are easily available and can quickly recover deleted files even if you format the drive. Besides,
According to a recent report by Kensington, a laptop is stolen every 53 seconds?mostly at the airports, offices, public transport, restaurants, and hotels.
Earlier, the laptops were stolen for physical hardware, but now, the theft has become common for the data, as data holds more value than your laptop.
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“Don?t be mistaken that your laptop is password protected so the data can?t be accessed. It?s your storage media that holds data, not the OS.” |
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Therefore, sanitization of email client data (secure erasure) and other sensitive information is critical to safeguard data privacy.
Easy Way to Erase Email Clients Data in Windows
A file is erased when you overwrite it with some data. It can be anything?a random string or pattern of 0s and 1s. However, deleted data needs to be overwritten several times to ensure permanent deletion beyond recovery.
For this, you require a data erasure tool that uses internationally accredited data erasure algorithms such as DoD 5220.22-M, Gutmann, NATO, and more to ensure ?Data Sanitization?.
A popular privacy safeguarding tool?Stellar File Eraser can help you get rid of your confidential and private data such as emails from your Windows PC. The software features 3 international data erasure algorithms that include DoD 5220.22-M.
With dedicated options to sanitize sensitive data such as internet activities, system traces, and application traces?the software keeps your sensitive data safe from prying eyes and various other data threats.
Besides, you can use it to securely erase your unused or free space, which might contain previously deleted data, and also wipe a complete volume or drive with a data erasure algorithm and verification method.
Important Note: Never use data erasure software on a solid state drive (SSD). SSDs work differently, and no data erasure software can sanitize data from an SSD completely but can significantly affect the SSD life. Instead, use encryption or the SSD?s secure erase option often available within the utility provided by the SSD manufacturer.
To erase email clients data, follow these 5-simple steps:
- Install and run the Stellar File Eraser software
- Go to Settings and choose Erasure Algorithm and Verification method
- Click ?Home? and then click ?Erase Traces?
- The software will then scan through your system to look for all traces. After that, a screen like the one below will appear
- Expand System Traces and look for the relevant items. Then click the ?Erase Now? button at the bottom-right. The software begins erasure task using the selected data erasure algorithm and the verification method.
- After erasure, the software asks you to reboot your system. Click ?Yes? and you?re done.
The software securely destroys the data beyond the scope of recovery so effectively that not even forensic tools can restore it completely. Further, using ?Search File? option, you can select and erase specific files and folders beyond recovery.
Conveniently, the software does offer a ?Schedule? option that you can use to program data erasure tasks such as erasing internet activities or a particular folder or file at a specific time or boot event.
Conclusion
Data being the most valuable asset and with increasing data theft and breaches, it?s crucial to implement best practices to ensure data integrity and security. One way is to securely erase confidential and sensitive information?such as email data?stored in your laptops, PCs, and various storage devices.
You can use a data erasure software such as Stellar File Eraser, which is a popular privacy-safeguarding tool. It sanitizes sensitive files and data with the help of international data erasure standards, and it?s the only tool for home.
