Security is a growing concern for a lot of people. The threat of identity theft is on the rise and any person can be affected. One common way that an identity thief gets hold of the data he needs is by accessing files or documents that are left lying around in the open especially those accessible from the World Wide Web.

You might say, I've deleted my files and no one can access them now, but the truth is you are wrong in that particular thinking. Not unless you can be certain that you have properly deleted your sensitive file or if you used a specialized program designed specifically for the task. Until then you cannot be sure that you have fully deleted your files and that they are now beyond trace.

This is where a file shredder program comes in. File shredder programs are specially designed to properly and fully delete files that you would not want anybody else to see. Most of the file shredder programs available for use follow guidelines set by the US government. This means that these programs delete your files to a certain degree making it virtually non existent.

We all have seen the movies where a whole company goes into panic because they are the subject of inquest by the IRS or any other government firms. In those scenes, paper shredders are a common fixture. We see shifty eyed employees feeding these machines batch by batch of company documents that are not for government eyes. The motive behind movie file shredding scenes is similar to the reason behind shredding computer files.

Let us just hope and believe that your reasons for shredding your computer files are much more personal rather than in an attempt to hide from the law. So, how does a file shredding program work? It is basically the same as a paper shredder, wherein it moves to make the files unreadable by cutting them up. After a file has been shredded, piecing it back up is theoretically doable, but is extremely - and we mean extremely difficult to do.

File shredder programs that are available for download can be found easily on the internet, some of these programs are free while others require purchase. In most cases, purchased programs work the best and have the least amount of glitches. However, this does not mean that free software does not work since there are always a few exceptions to the rule.

These are some of the file shredder software available for download:

Windows Washer - this file shredder allows you to shred files from Windows explorer and others. Windows Washer also has a 'Wash and Bleach' feature and the package is available for US $30.

Absolute Shield File Shredder 1.41 has a user rating of 4 out of 5. This product is said to function very well and that false malware reviews about it should be ignored.

East-Tec File Shredder is available for free downloads and has a rating of 5 out 5 from 100% of its users.

Max File Shredder - this program is also available in a free format. Simple File Shredder 3.2 is also a reliable file shredder and has received high ratings from its users.