Situation: removing usage tracks.

Experienced: we've disabled the shredder in 1.5 if running on XP or newer, because it wasn't very effective there. While it's still internally used, it's not the best solution.

Expected/Requested: use the Eraser (http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/) SDK to shred files if Eraser is installed.

Preparations have been made to allow this upgrade through updating tools.dll only, so it can be added through a small tools.dll update independent of the 1.5 release.

In the past version, there has been the window to allow you to shred stuff from with in SB, forget all that. Just have SB shred its waste files and stuff its cleaning. Would be nice to have the 35 pass Gutman option, with the CLUSTER TIPS option as well (as seen in Edit-->Preferences-->Erasing)!

tools.dll means that it will be automatically and transparently used for all removal operations :)

Standard removal through Eraser works now. Checking the options might get a bit more complicated - the API seems to offer two ways: one by just calling eraserRemoveFile (after some basic initialization stuff), the other by using a queue, dialogs, etc.. Through the second one, the options could be set I guess, but I would prefer the first one, if that uses whatever the user has set in Erasers options anyway (which I need to find out still).

If there are any other Eraser users out there, please vote on this topic, and/or post a comment. With so few users (wk357mag currently :D ), I guess I would first email those a version for testing before making it a public beta tools.dll.

but I would prefer the first one, if that uses whatever the user has set in Erasers options anyway (which I need to find out still).

Yes, I like this best and should be easy to obtain. I have mine set with-in Erasure to Gutman pass with tips and NO REPORT, so there is no popup after its done. This in the end gives me a Right-Click Contex Menu option to erase any file. When selected, its done, no windows popup to report it in the end.

Would be great if SpyBots cleaning could use this same thing, via the options I have preselected already. I can see how others may not want this much shredding, so they can choose some of the faster options availible.

Would love to test some beta versions of tools for ya!

See link removed

Just replace the existing tools.dll with the one from this archive, which, if Eraser (32 bit, but that can be installed parallel to the 64 bit edition) is installed, uses Eraser as the first removal tool (of up to 16 steps in this version).

Tests with Eraser are as welcome as tests on machines without Eraser (to see that this addition does not conflict).

Update: we first need to find another scheme to implement Eraser support before we make the download available again I'm afraid. From the heidi.ie source download page:
Please notice that any application using the Eraser library must be licensed under GNU GPL. Yes, this is intentional.This is - imho - not a very good representation of the GPL (and not in a place where one would necessarily even read it when downloading the software, which only ships the GPL), which actually says:
These requirements apply to the modified work as a whole. If identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Program, and can be reasonably considered independent and separate works in themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not apply to those sections when you distribute them as separate works. But when you distribute [...]Since we would not distribute Eraser at all, and those are quite indepedent works, I would feel that the GPL would still allow us to dynamically link to it as a separate work, but since they seem to interpret it otherwise, this is on hold right now.

ok, I been using this new TOOLS you had linked me too originally. It works with no issues, but, I cant tell if its using Erasure to actually clean with. I dont here the normal grinding of the HD, as it makes the 35 Gutman pass, which is how I have this set to operate on its own. Any input here, would be great.

From the GNU GPL FAQ (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html):

Can I release a non-free program that's designed to load a GPL-covered plug-in?
It depends on how the program invokes its plug-ins. If the program uses fork and exec to invoke plug-ins, then the plug-ins are separate programs, so the license of the plug-in makes no requirements about the main program. If the program dynamically links plug-ins, and they make function calls to each other and share data structures, we believe they form a single program, which must be treated as an extension of both the main program and the plug-ins. In order to use the GPL-covered plug-ins, the main program must be released under the GPL or a GPL-compatible free software license, and that the terms of the GPL must be followed when the main program is distributed for use with these plug-ins.
If the program dynamically links plug-ins, but the communication between them is limited to invoking the `main' function of the plug-in with some options and waiting for it to return, that is a borderline case.Personally I would see such a borderline case here, but since the official FAQ doesn't go into that much detail, I've decided to change this issues status to Rejected, since we cannot implement it without a conflict with the Eraser makers, which we have no desire for. Also, any configuration on how stuff should be deleted would fall into the earlier case of shared data structures.

Will have to create a new own shredder I guess at some point ;)

ok, how about all items CLEANED by SpyBot, to be dumped into the recycle bin. Then peeps with Erasure can use the recycle bin contect menu option of "Erase Recycle Bin". This would get it the same way and avoid the pitfalls noted above!

Also, maybe get special permission from Erasure to do what you were initially planning.

Just other thoughts on same topic. Hoping to get this one to work, as I do like it alot

Btw, I emailed them last Wednesday (October 10th) morning, describing the GPL, that their additional requirement would be both GPL-incompatible and in the wrong place, but that I would still honor it, asking about this special case. No answer yet.

Found out that they're not even a mile from our office, so if they don't answer soon, we might just visit them and ask them in person :D

LOL, right around the corner! Cool!!

if what you want to do is compatible with a straight GPL license and it's only their extra requirement preventing you from doing what you want, there's always WinEraser (also gpl) which was forked from the eraser 5.7 codebase. It has only had one release (1.0 back in '06) and doesn't look actively maintained anymore, but it's GPL no extra requirements (that I found anyway)

judging from the changelog, it looks like a name change, help system change, rearranged some code, and a new installer are the differences from eraser 5.7.

it's on sourceforge
http://sourceforge.net/projects/win-eraser/

I haven't tried it out, as I'm using eraser 5.8ish

Jeff

Ah, thanks :)
That would either force people to install a no longer maintained product though, or us to ship the DLL instead of just providing support for something that may or may not be installed.

Sent them another email, asking when someone will be present at their office.

Otherwise, if they think they don't owe their users even simple "sorry no", I might as well act the borderline case, ignoring their GPL-violating additional requirement.

Did some more reading of the GPL. First, the GPL doesn't cover usage, only distribution etc., so they might have a right to add that restriction.
That would allow a workaround though: a small proxy library that I would publish under the GPL. That proxy library would satisfy their requirement for the using application being GPL, while at the same time, allowing us to use this proxy library, since it's just under the GPL and doesn't limit usage (nor mono-directional dynamic linking).

I also did post right here on the Eraser support forum (http://bbs.heidi.ie/viewtopic.php?p=9898), btw.

Good work with that post. That should get some attention. With any hope he can just offer you (in writing) permission to use it with no limits. Since both are FREE programs!

I'm switching this to the status "Implemented" since 5.8 support is ready in code, just disabled, and would only need me to grab the phone, which I kind of postponed to wait and look at the v6 that I was suggested to look at... etc... ;)