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Welcome!

            Copyright Craig Christensen 1996-1998

            All Rights Reserved

            Help file generated by VB HelpWriter.


Pattern Filters

Pattern Filters and Wildcards

The default pattern in the filter box is "*.*" (all files). Use any of the pre-set file extensions to filter the file types of interest. If the file type of interest is not in the pre-set list, you may enter directly any pattern you wish. For example, for a list of all files with the extension "myPattern", enter "*.myPattern". Mutilate also supports the "?" wildcard character. For example, entering "*.??" displays all files with a 2 character extension.

            Copyright Craig Christensen 1996-1998

            All Rights Reserved

            Help file generated by VB HelpWriter.


Registration

How to Register

To receive you registration code, which will eliminate the start up Register/Evaluate form, all registration reminders, and allow continued use of Mutilate, remit $20.00 US Funds to:

Craig Christensen

PO Box 30593

Spokane, WA 99223-3009

USA

US Orders:

US addresses please complete the mail order form and send check or money order.

For secure credit card orders only I have contracted with a third party to handle the transaction,

Please visit:

https://www24.hway.net/nstars/981-s.htm

Your browser must support HTTPS Secure Socket Layer (SSL). Your credit card information is encrypted for your protection. Order with confidence!

Do not send support queries or other comments to the credit card processing service. They can not assist you.

Foreign orders:

Orders from outside of the United States, please complete the mail order form and send an International Money Order payable in US Funds.

For credit card orders only I have contracted with a third party to handle the transaction,

Please visit:

https://www24.hway.net/nstars/981-s.htm

Your browser must support HTTPS Secure Socket Layer (SSL). Your credit card information is encrypted for your protection. Order with confidence!

Do not send support queries or other comments to the credit card processing service. They can not assist you.

For your convenience, you may also send $20 US currency, however, currency is sent at your own risk. Foreign currency is also acceptable in an amount equal to at least US$20.00 + 5% over current dollar exchange rate. No coins, please.

Site Licenses:

  First Site $20.00

  Additional Sites        Price per Site

        2-10	   $8.00

       11-50              	   $4.00

       51-250	   $2.00

       250+               	   $1.25

Thank you!

            Copyright Craig Christensen 1996-1998

            All Rights Reserved

            Help file generated by VB HelpWriter.


Copyright

Copyright 1996-1998 Craig Christensen

All Rights Reserved.

Windows, Windows 95, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Netscape and Netscape Navigator are registered trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation. Helpfile generated by Helpwriter. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

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Security Levels

Mutilate offers three predefined security levels and a user-configurable level. To change the Security Level, select Options | Security Level from the menu bar.

Predefined Security Levels

Normal Security Level - Mutilate sets all target file bits to 0. This level is all you will ever need to prevent restoration of your deleted files through the use of any software recovery methods such as MS-DOS "undelete" or Norton's DiskEdit. The higher level settings are designed to prevent data recovery methods which require a physical examination of magnetic traces left on the physical disk.

High Security Level - Mutilate initially overwrites the target file with pseudo-random characters, the bits are then set to 1, finally Mutilate sets all target file bits to 0.

Intense Security Level - The High Security Level setting is repeated three times (a total of nine overwrite passes).

Custom Security Level - For special needs or for the truly paranoid, the custom level allows any combination of up to 99 passes each of 0's 1's or random bit patterns.

            Copyright Craig Christensen 1996-1998

            All Rights Reserved

            Helpfile generated by Helpwriter

            Help file generated by VB HelpWriter.


How Mutilate Wipes Files

Depending upon the security level selected, all bits in the target file, including cluster slack space, are overwritten with 0's, 1's, and/or random bit patterns. For multiple wipe options such as the High, Intense, and Custom levels, overwrite order is always a pass of Random, a pass of 1's, then 0's, Random, 1's, 0's, etc. Mutilate changes the file date to a randomly selected date between the present system date and a date up to two years ago. The file size is then set to zero and the file is deleted.

            Copyright Craig Christensen 1996-1998

            All Rights Reserved

            Help file generated by VB HelpWriter.


Disclaimer & License

THIS SOFTWARE AND MANUAL ARE PROVIDED FOR EVALUATION ONLY, ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. CRAIG CHRISTENSEN DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES RELATING TO THIS SOFTWARE, WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NEITHER CRAIG CHRISTENSEN NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF THIS SOFTWARE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE SUCH SOFTWARE, EVEN IF CRAIG CHRISTENSEN HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIMS. THE PERSON USING THE SOFTWARE BEARS ALL RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE.

This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Washington and shall inure to the benefit of Craig Christensen and any successors, administrators, heirs and assigns. Any action or proceeding brought by either party against the other arising out of or related to this agreement shall be brought only in a STATE or FEDERAL COURT of competent jurisdiction located in Spokane County, Washington. The parties hereby consent to in personam jurisdiction of said courts.

TRIAL USE LICENSE

Mutilate is NOT a public domain program.  It is copyrighted by Craig Christensen.  This software and accompanying documentation are protected by United States copyright law and also by international treaty provisions.

Craig Christensen grants you a limited license to use this software for evaluation purposes for a period not to exceed thirty days.  If you continue using this software after the thirty-day evaluation period, you MUST make a registration payment to Craig Christensen.

You may not use, copy, rent, lease, sell, modify, decompile, disassemble, otherwise reverse engineer, or transfer the licensed program except as provided in this agreement.  Any such unauthorized use shall result in immediate and automatic termination of this license. All rights not expressly granted here are reserved to Craig Christensen.

LIMITED DISTRIBUTION LICENSE

The following may distribute Mutilate, completely unaltered, without further permission...; for other cases or to distribute in modified form, you must consult the attached data record, which is hereby incorporated by reference. (see the file ''vENDINFO.DIZ') Any distribution satisfying all the distribution requirements expressed in that data record is hereby authorized.

Permission to distribute the Mutilate package is not transferable, assignable, saleable, or franchisable.  Each vendor wishing to distribute the package must independently satisfy the terms of this limited distribution license.

U.S. Government Information:  Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government of the computer software and documentation in this package shall be subject to the restricted rights applicable to commercial computer software as set forth in subdivision (b)(3)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at 252.227-7013 (DFARS 52.227-7013).  The Contractor/manufacturer is Craig Christensen, P.O. Box 30593, Spokane, WA 99223-3009.

Craig Christensen may revoke any permissions granted here, by notifying you in writing.  All rights not expressly granted here are reserved to Craig Christensen.

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Mail Order Form

Mutilate Mail Order Form

Name:

Company (if any):

    Register in the name of your company?

Address:

Mutilate Version:

Include your email address for quick response:

Comments:

To receive you registration code, which will eliminate the start

up Register/Evaluate form & all registration reminders, remit

$20.00 US Funds to:

Craig Christensen

PO Box 30593

Spokane, WA 99223-3009

USA

US Orders:

US addresses send check or money order.

Foreign orders:

Orders from outside of the United States, please send an

International Money Order payable in US Funds. For your

convenience, you may also send $20 US currency, however, currency

is sent at your own risk. Foreign currency is also acceptable in

an amount equal to at least US$20.00 + 5% over current dollar

exchange rate. No coins, please.

Site Licenses:

    First Site $20.00

  Additional Sites        Price per Site

        2-10	   $8.00

       11-50              	   $4.00

       51-250	   $2.00

       250+               	   $1.25

Thank you!


Quick Start

To use Mutilate to wipe files, simply highlight the file(s) you wish to destroy & click the Mutilate button. Use caution! The files you select can never be recovered.

To preview file details of a particular file, hold the left mouse button down over the filename in the file list window. The details will appear in one of the lower status bars.

To wipe folders, including all files and subfolders, highlight the target folder making sure that no files are selected, and click the Mutilate button. Mutilate will wipe the complete contents of the target folder starting with subfolders, if any. A confirmation dialog box will ask you to confirm that you want to wipe each subfolder.  To skip this confirmation, select the "Yes to All" button on the confirmation dialog box. Mutilate cannot wipe a folder without first wiping all subfolders.

Mutilate Files from Windows Explorer

Alternatively, you can use Windows Explorer to select the files or folder. Simply right-click on the target file in Windows Explorer or My Computer and select "Send To" | Mutilate.

            Copyright Craig Christensen 1996-1998

            All Rights Reserved

            Help file generated by VB HelpWriter.


Normal File Deletion Insecure

Using DOS delete or the Windows 95 Recycle Bin to delete files merely removes the file system's pointer to the file, ALL THE DATA REMAINS ON YOUR HARD DRIVE OR FLOPPY DISK until the space is reclaimed and overwritten by another file. The remaining data can be easily recovered with the use of a software recovery utility. Your sensitive files may also be vulnerable to advanced recovery techniques, EVEN WHEN OVERWRITTEN, by analyzing latent magnetic traces.

Mutilate is designed to destroy files beyond recovery. The data in the target files you select are overwritten by 0's, 1's or random patterns of 0's and 1's. Overwriting the target file one time is all you'll need to prevent someone from undeleting your data. If you are concerned about someone attempting to recover data by examining latent magnetic traces on your disk, however, use Mutilate to repeatedly overwrite target files. Multiple overwrites will obscure the real data's magnetic traces with garbage data.

            Copyright Craig Christensen 1996-1998

            All Rights Reserved

         Helpfile generated by Helpwriter

            Help file generated by VB HelpWriter.


Comments or to Report Bugs

Support Questions, Comments or Bug Reports

You may contact the author Craig Christensen at:

e-mail-   	craigchr@worldnet.att.net

snail mail-       	Craig Christensen

PO Box 30593

Spokane, WA 99223-3009

USA

See Also the Mutilate Home Page on the World Wide Web: 	http://home.att.net/~craigchr/mutilate.html

Please report bugs!

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Wiping Free Disk Space

Free disk space is the portion of your hard drive that is not assigned any files. Available or "empty" space really contains old deleted files, some you may know about, others are "temporary" files, used by an application then deleted, often without your knowledge. Worse, Windows uses a swapfile when short on random access memory (RAM) which can contain anything that would otherwise be stored in your computer's RAM. When you exit Windows, the swapfile's contents remain on your hard drive just like a deleted file. You might find passwords, financial records, old love letters, etc.

To wipe free disk space:

•	Select Tools | Wipe Free Disk Space

•	Unless you are wiping a floppy disk, close all active applications. (If you choose to ignore this recommendation, be sure to read the "troubleshooting" link below.)

        •	Select the drive on which you wish to wipe the free space.

•	Press the "Change" button in the Security Level section if you need to change the Security Level setting. Although Mutilate is extremely fast compared to similar utilities, the process will still take a significant period of time to wipe large empty disk spaces at the High and Intense Security Level settings.

•	Press the Wipe Free Space button.

Mutilate wipes up to 8 GB free space for Windows NT 4.0 and later, and for Windows 95 OSR2 (version 4.00.950b) and later.

Prior releases (such as Windows NT 3.51 and Windows 95 versions 4.00.950a or 4.00.950) are subject to a 2 GB maximum free space.

Note: Lost allocation units are not free space. Run ScanDisk or an equivalent utility to convert lost allocation units to valid files. Wiping free disk space does not wipe the swap file currently in use by Windows. You can reduce the size of a non-fixed swap file by closing all applications. Clusters previously occupied by the a larger swap file will be wiped when wiping free disk space. For more information see the FAQ.

Troubleshooting the Free Space Wiper

            Copyright Craig Christensen 1996-1998

            All Rights Reserved

            Help file generated by VB HelpWriter.


Troubleshooting Free Space Wiper

Wiping the free space is similar to wiping a regular file. Mutilate creates a temporary file the size of the free space on the selected disk (or a series of files if free disk space is greater than 1 Gigabyte). Mutilate then wipes those files. In the event of an error not handled by Mutilate causing the Wipe Free Disk Space procedure to abort (such as a power loss or other unanticipated conditions), it may be necessary to manually delete those files. The files will be found in the default "Temp" directory of the drive (typically C:\Windows\Temp or C:\Temp) or in the root directory if there is no default temp directory (for example: A:\) . The "MUT" files have the extension ".TMP", and are always prefixed with the letters "MUT". A typical MUT file name would be "MUT2A48.TMP".

You can attempt to wipe the "MUT" temp files with Mutilate to complete the Wipe Free Space process or, if that fails, highlight the "MUT" temp file(s) in Windows Explorer file manager and hit the 'Delete' key. If Windows denies access to the file, you need to restart your computer. You may also need to empty the file from the Recycle Bin to recover all disk space. Please notify the author of any problems.

            Copyright Craig Christensen 1996-1998

            All Rights Reserved

            Help file generated by VB HelpWriter.


support queries or other comments


Power Mutilator

Sometimes target files are scattered all over your hard drive(s). Who can remember all the files necessary to wipe, for example, your browser tracks? Fortunately, Power Mutilator can wipe all those files at one time and save up to twelve target folders for future use.

To start Power Mutilator, select from the menu bar Tools | Power Mutilator

Here is Power Mutilator set up to wipe records of online activity left by Netscape Navigator 4.04:

The files you need to wipe browser tracks will vary for different browsers and browser versions.

To set up and wipe the target folders:

1:  Double-click on the cell you want to change. Find the folder in the browse for folder window and press 'OK'. Some folders (such as the Temporary Internet Files/Cache 1 through Cache 4) are hidden and cannot be selected when browsing for folders. To define those target folders, or if you just like typing path names, select the 'Enter Hidden Folders' option and double-click on the cell you are changing. Then type in the complete path to the target folder and press 'OK'.

2:  Enter the desired file extension filter into the filter cell. The default filter is *.* which will destroy all files in the target folder. Note that you can select a single file in the folder by entering the file name into the filter cell (such as cookies.txt in the above example).

3:  Check the "include?" check box for the cells containing the target folders you wish to destroy.

4:  Press the Mutilate button. A list of files for each cell that you have defined is displayed one at a time before files are wiped. If you are brave and do not wish to review the files, check the "Don't Ask Again" checkbox when the first confirmation list is displayed.

Note: To remove a path from a Power Mutilator cell, click the cell to highlight it, then press the delete key on your keyboard. This will clear the active cell entries.

Other Uses for Power Mutilator:

Destroy Internet Explorer browser tracks

Enter the folders as above for Netscape omitting any of the folder paths which contain the word "Netscape"

Destroy links to recent documents in Windows 95 (Start | Documents)

Locate your 'Recent' folder:

For example: C:\WINDOWS\Recent\*.LNK

Or, for systems with user profiles: C:\WINDOWS\Profiles\User Name\Recent\*.LNK

Destroy temporary files:

Locate your default temporary folder:

For example: C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\*.*

Destroy files in the Windows 95 Recycle Bin

Enter C:\Recycled\*.*

(This is a Hidden System Folder, use the 'Enter Hidden Folders' option & type the path in manually)

It is recommended to use this method only for wiping all files in the Recycle Bin.

See Also the Mutilate Home Page on the World Wide Web: http://home.att.net/~craigchr/mutilate.html

Copyright Craig Christensen 1996-1998

All Rights Reserved

            Help file generated by VB HelpWriter.


Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Does Mutilate support FAT32?

A. Yes. Mutilate assumes a cluster size of 4096 bytes for FAT32. For FAT32 disks with smaller cluster sizes, Mutilate overwrites into the next unassigned clusters with a negligible impact on performance.

Q. Why does my disk recovery program recover previously deleted files, complete and intact, even after wiping free space?

A. Some data recovery programs convert Recycle Bin files to "recovered" files and return them to their original locations. To prevent recovery of these files, empty the Recycle Bin before wiping free space. Also, lost allocation units take up space and are not part of a disk free space. Be sure to run ScanDisk and repair any lost allocation units prior to wiping free space if you suspect your drive may contain errors.

Q. How can I wipe files in the Recycle Bin?

A. For individual files, first restore the file, then wipe in the normal manner from the restored location. If you have many files to wipe from the Recycle Bin it may be faster to use the delete key to delete the selected files from the Recycle Bin and then wipe free space. To directly wipe all files in the Recycle Bin, select Options | Hidden Folders and then enter the path name 'C:\RECYCLED' (without quotes). Be sure the file filter is set to '*.*' For more than one hard drive or partition, you will also need to wipe 'D:\RECYCLED', 'E:\RECYCLED', etc. It is recommended to use this method only for wiping all files in the Recycle Bin. Of course, you may find it easier just to wipe files with Mutilate rather than put them to the Recycle Bin. See also help for Power Mutilator.

Q. I encountered an error when wiping free space and all of my available hard drive space disappeared . How do I get it back?

A. You need to delete the temporary file(s) Mutilate created to wipe free space. For details refer to Troubleshooting Free Space Wiper.

Q. How can I wipe the swap file?

A. The swap file is difficult to wipe because it cannot be written over during a Windows session and it is deleted by Windows when Windows closes. In its default setup, the swap file changes size according to your system's needs. Unless you have a fixed swap file size, you can reduce the size of your swap file temporarily by closing all applications. Wiping free disk space will wipe those clusters that previously contained the larger swap file. To completely wipe the swap file using this method you must reduce the swap file size to zero by disabling virtual memory and then wiping disk free space:  (Advanced users) In Control Panel first select System, then select the Performance tab. Then select the Virtual Memory button. Check "Let me specify my own virtual memory settings". Select Disable Virtual Memory & press 'OK'. Windows issues a warning that you may not be able to restart your computer without virtual memory. If this option is grayed out then you definitely do not have enough memory to restart Windows. Be sure to have a Windows 95 boot disk handy in case you run into problems restarting Windows - you are on your own here. Restart Windows. Now start Mutilate and wipe the free space of the drive on which the swap file existed. If you receive an error message when starting Mutilate, your memory is insufficient. You may be able to proceed by quitting other programs, such as those that startup automatically. Now return to the Virtual Memory settings in Control Panel as described above and re-select "Let Windows manage my virtual memory settings". Reboot (or just end your session for the day) and you're done.

See Also the Mutilate Home Page on the World Wide Web: http://home.att.net/~craigchr/mutilate.html

Copyright Craig Christensen 1996-1998

All Rights Reserved

            Help file generated by VB HelpWriter.


Installing Mutilate / Runtime Files

The installation procedure for Mutilate is quite simple.  The package includes a program, "SETUP.EXE", which automates the entire process.

The exact steps you need to take will depend on how you received Mutilate.

On some systems you may need to download the correct VB5 runtime files (VB5 runtime files version SP3). If the files are needed on your system, Mutilate's setup program will display a "missing dll" or "wrong version of runtime file" message.

VB5 runtime files are widely available on the Internet and local BBS's.

Here is one site where you can find the files, if necessary:

ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/win95/dll/vb5rtsp3.zip

Use the installation program provided with vb5rtsp3.zip to automatically install or update the runtime files. Once the runtime files are installed, begin the Mutilate setup program again.

INSTALLING FROM DISKETTES

To install from diskette(s), you need to perform the following steps.

Place Mutilate distribution diskette "Disk 1" in the appropriate diskette drive.

Execute the "SETUP.EXE" program on the distribution diskette. For example, if the distribution diskette is on drive A:, find the file "A:\setup.exe" in Windows 95 Explorer and double click on it.

Follow the instructions presented by the installation program. You will have a chance to approve installation before any changes are actually made to the contents of your hard drive.  The program will ask you for a destination directory, and will copy the Mutilate files to that directory.  If you received Mutilate on two diskettes, you will need to insert Disk 2 in the diskette drive when asked to do so.  If you so direct it, the installation program will install executable programs and documentation in other directories of your choice.  It will make no other changes; specifically, it will not modify your autoexec.bat or config.sys files.

INSTALLING FROM A HARD DRIVE

If you downloaded Mutilate from the Internet or a BBS (or received it in the form of archive files from some other source), you will need to perform the following steps:

Extract the contents of the archive file(s) in a temporary directory on your hard drive.  The procedure for doing this varies, depending on the form in which you received the package. In all likelihood, the fact that you are reading this text means that you already have the necessary tools and knowledge to perform this step.  If not, you should be able to obtain directions for this from the same source from which you received the package.

Close all open programs and then execute the "SETUP.EXE" program which you have extracted. For example, in Windows 95, if the temporary directory into which you have extracted the Mutilate

package is C:\TEMPDIR, you would execute the file by double-clicking on the file, "c:\tempdir\setup.exe" in Windows Explorer.

Follow the instructions presented by the installation program. You will have a chance to approve installation before any changes are actually made to the contents of your hard drive.  The program will ask you for a destination directory, and will copy the Mutilate files to that directory.  If you so direct it, the installation program will install executable programs and documentation in other directories of your choice.  It will make no other changes; specifically, it will not modify your autoexec.bat or config.sys files.

When you're satisfied that the installation was successful, you should delete the temporary directory FROM which you installed Mutilate (C:\TEMPDIR, in the above discussion), including all its contents.

If you like, you can place the Mutilate icon on your desktop by dragging a shortcut to the mutilate.exe file onto your desktop area. To create the shortcut, right-click on the file 'Mutilate.exe' in Windows

Explorer, and select "Create Shortcut".

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