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shred (Unix)
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<p>shred is a command on <a href="/facts/Unix-like/YAKrAxzd">Unix-like</a> <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating systems</a> that can be used to <a href="/facts/Data_erasure/3XagLr8M">securely delete</a> files and devices so that it is extremely difficult to recover them, even with specialized hardware and technology; assuming recovery is possible at all, which is not always the case. It is a part of <a href="/facts/GNU_Core_Utilities/Q9cop5U5">GNU Core Utilities</a>. Being based on the <a href="/facts/Gutmann_method/nMAtloRo">Gutmann method</a> paper, it suffers from the same criticisms and possible shortcomings. </p>