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In Windows, use the executable `bleachbit_console.exe` to show the console output. The directory isn't added automatically to the path, so you use the full path `C:\Program Files (x86)\BleachBit\bleachbit_console.exe`. Where acceptable, it is best to substitute the environment variable `%ProgramFiles(x86)%` for `C:\Program Files (x86)\`.
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###Linux
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## Linux
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Running `bleachbit` (which is in the path) with arguments runs BleachBit in command line mode. Without arguments, BleachBit runs in graphical mode. The clipboard can only be cleaned under an X session (which is generally not available over SSH or in cron).
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###Listing options
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## Listing options
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To see a list of cleaners and their options, run:
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`bleachbit --list-cleaners`
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Aliases are `-l` and `--list`.
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###Preview
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## Preview
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To preview deleting Firefox cache, run:
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`bleachbit --preview firefox.cache`
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An alias is `--p`.
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###Deleting files
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## Deleting files
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When you are ready to delete files and make other permanent changes, replace ```--preview``` with ```--clean```. To delete Firefox cache, for example, run:
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`bleachbit --clean firefox.vacuum`
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An alias is `--c`.
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###Including multiple cleaners and options
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## Including multiple cleaners and options
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Preview and cleaning modes accept the same options for including and excluding cleaners and options.
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To except cleaning options, combine ```--except``` with inclusion options. The following previews all of Firefox except cookies.
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-`--except` does not accept wildcards.
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-`--except` was introduced after BleachBit 5.0.2.
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###Overwriting files
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## Overwriting files
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To overwrite the contents of files, so they cannot be undeleted later, add ```--overwrite```:
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`bleachbit --overwrite --clean firefox.vacuum`
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Without ```--overwrite```, BleachBit checks the configuration set in the graphical user interface.
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###Shredding files
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## Shredding files
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To shred any file, so its contents cannot be recovered, use `--shred`. While `--overwrite` refers to the files identified by `--clean`, the option `--shred` shreds any file anywhere. For example, this shreds one file named `yoga_emails.txt`:
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When files are [deleted without shredding](shred-files-and-wipe-disks.html), the contents might be recoverable from the disk's empty free space. To prevent recovery from empty space, you can wipe the empty space. Unlike wiping specific files, wiping empty space takes a long time.
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BleachBit 5.0.2 and earlier used `--wipe-free-space` instead of `--wipe-empty-space`.
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###cron example (Linux)
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## cron example (Linux)
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To vacuum Firefox each night at 03:00, run this to edit cron jobs:
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Normally when software deletes a file, only the "metadata" is erased: that means the complete contents often can easily be recovered, so BleachBit (and similar applications) offer secure erase features (also called secure wipe, secure overwriting, or file shredding) to permanently remove data. Some applications even advertise "advanced" erasure methods referencing important names in security such as Gutmann, the United States Department of Defense, and the NSA, but these references often mislead people to waste time on snake oil technological remedies while ignoring important basics. Any product or method suggesting a convenient, comprehensive solution to security is deceptive: convenience and security oppose each other. This guide will explain **how 1 pass is enough, but 35 passes are not enough.** Regardless of the tools you use, please read this guide carefully and completely.
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###Myths and legends
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## Myths and legends
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Most of the confusion regarding the topic of data remanence (data left behind after it is deleted) is because of myths and urban legends. Before discussing what is true, let's preview what is not:
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The details are explained below.
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###What features does BleachBit have to securely wipe files?
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## What features does BleachBit have to securely wipe files?
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Today BleachBit offers these features
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Unlike other cleaner applications, BleachBit shreds Internet history in Firefox without deleting the whole Firefox Places database.
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###Are these features secure?
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## Are these features secure?
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Concerned about the security of my house, once I asked a locksmith whether I should upgrade the standard lock on my front door. Not a good salesman, he replied, "Why bother? A burglar would just break the window."
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Is driving a new car with air bags and a good crash test rating safe? Probably. How about when the car is operated by a 15-year old on a busy road at night while texting on his cell phone? Probably not. This analogy demonstrates two things. First, security is not black or white: there is always risk ranging from near (but not completely) zero to near 100%. Indeed, sometimes people even walk away from catastrophic car accidents. Second, the context is important: what is good in one situation is not good in another. Therefore, a better question is...
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###How secure are BleachBit's methods?
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## How secure are BleachBit's methods?
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When used appropriately, BleachBit's data wiping features are generally enough to hide traces of most data from most people.
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The answers to these questions will lead you to the appropriate level of caution.
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###Are multiple passes better than one pass?
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## Are multiple passes better than one pass?
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Some applications offer "advanced" and "high security" erasure techniques such as Gutmann method (35 passes), Department of Defense (DOD) standard (7 passes), National Security Agency (NSA) "approved" (3 passes), etc. Introduced by a poor reading of Peter Gutmann's ancient paper, people incorrectly believe that overwriting the same data multiple times makes it more difficult to recover. Years after his original paper, Peter Gutmann himself tried to clear up the confusion caused by his original paper [[*](https://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html#Epilogue)]:
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Second, shredding software which advertises these features often glosses over the application of the technique. **The DoD 5220.22-M standard was never intended be shred individual files or to wipe free disk space**: it was intended to wipe the entire hard drive causing a complete data loss including the operating system and all software, settings, and documents. Also, Department of Defense approves software shredding techniques only within the DoD: for storage devices released out of the Department of Defense, only mechanical destruction is approved. In other words, any software which shreds individual files or free disk space cannot be DOD or NSA compliant.
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###Limits of shredding files and wiping free disk space
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## Limits of shredding files and wiping free disk space
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Shredding individual files and free disk space has limited benefits for any cleaner application, including BleachBit. Once you understand the limits, you will know whether taking extra mitigation steps is worthwhile.
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2. File systems allocate space in fixed chunks called a block size, and many files do not use all the last block. A 5,000,000 byte file on a 4096 size block file system would use 1220 full blocks and 1 partial block with 2880 bytes. Say the file was deleted and a new file in the same place used 1024 bytes of the last block. That means 1856 bytes of the old file (0.03%) is not overwritten in what is called the "slack space" of the new file. Because cleaning slack space is tricky and realistically little useful data can be recovered from such tiny pieces (typically not more than 4096 bytes), BleachBit does not clean slack space when wiping free disk space. (Remember: BleachBit _does_ wipe slack when wiping individual files.)
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3. When an area of a modern hard drive is damaged, it automatically remaps the bad sector to a spare. The operating system and applications are unaware of the move, so wiping the drive ignores the damaged area. According to [DBAN](https://dban.org/), a powerful disk wiping tool, it does not erase remapped sectors and hidden areas.
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###How to securely delete data
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## How to securely delete data
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To permanently delete data, there is an order of progression with trade-offs of convenience and time vs privacy:
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However, in practice things become more complicated.
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###Keeping data private
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## Keeping data private
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Here are some suggestions to keep your data private
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7. Don't assume you control all the data. Say you download a file from www.example.com: there may be records on your computer, your ISP, www.example.com's server, www.example.com's ISP, www.example.com's backup site, the Internet backbone, etc. Think about how much data is stored on your email server, Facebook account, etc.
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8. Don't use any computers because the Nosy Secret Agents may looking over your shoulder using Van Eck phreaking.
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###Sources
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## Sources
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Linux users have a few choices for installing BleachBit.
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It is your choice to install from the distribution's repositories, but in case of any issues with the software, first check for a newer release.
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###Software dependencies
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## Software dependencies
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BleachBit 5 requires GTK 3.24 and Python 3.8 or later.
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###Signatures for .rpm and .deb packages
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## Signatures for .rpm and .deb packages
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Starting after BleachBit 5.0.2, the .rpm and .deb packages will be signed with the same key. This will make it easier to verify the signatures.
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###Ubuntu, Mint, and Debian
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## Ubuntu, Mint, and Debian
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####Graphical package manager
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### Graphical package manager
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Double click on the downloaded installation package which has a name like `bleachbit_5.0.2-0_all_ubuntu2504.deb`. Then, follow the prompts. You may see a security warning about third-party packages, and you may need to enter your password to install BleachBit.
Using apt is recommended over dpkg because it will automatically install dependencies.
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###Fedora, Red Hat, CentOS
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## Fedora, Red Hat, CentOS
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####Graphical package manager
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### Graphical package manager
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To install BleachBit using the graphical package manager, double click on the downloaded installation package which has a name like `bleachbit-5.0.2-1.1.fc43.noarch.rpm`. Then, follow the prompts.
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####Command line
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### Command line
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Alternatively, install using the command line like this.
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redirect_from: "/doc/install.html"
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###BleachBit
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# BleachBit
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This is the manual for [BleachBit](https://www.bleachbit.org), a fast and safe system cleaner. By simply checking boxes, you can delete unnecessary files such as cache, logs, cookies, recently-used-files lists, and more.
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