shred

Explanation

The shred command overwrites a file repeatedly to make it significantly harder for even expensive hardware probing to recover the data. It is used for securely deleting sensitive files.

Basic Syntax

shred [OPTION]... FILE...

Common Flags and Options

Flag	Description
-u, --remove	Truncate and remove file after overwriting.
-n, --iterations=N	Overwrite N times instead of the default (3).
-v, --verbose	Show progress.
-z, --zero	Add a final overwrite with zeros to hide shredding.

Real-world Examples

1. Overwrite a file (does not delete it):

   shred secret.txt

2. Securely overwrite and then delete a file:

   shred -u secret_password.txt

3. Shred with verbose output, 5 passes, and final zeroing:

   shred -v -n 5 -z -u bank_details.csv