bleachbit
Free Disk Space - Rename to Wipe Free Blocks
Under "System" The option "Free Disk Space", is noted as performing the following function ..
"Wiping free disk space erases remnants of files that were deleted without shredding. It does not free up space."
.. So it would be better named "Wipe Free Blocks" And the description of the function would not need "It does not free up space." on the end.
Summary of request
Change "Free Disk Space" to "Wipe Free Blocks"
Change "Wiping free disk space erases remnants of files that were deleted without shredding. It does not free up space." To "Wipe Free Blocks erases remnants of files that were deleted without shredding."
I always find it odd that you have to explain the naming convention, instead of just naming it appropriately.
I originally was going to propose "Wipe Disk Space" instead of "Free Disk Space" ..
but that may be misinterpreted by the user as wiping the whole drive.
Below is my feedback to you all and some brainstorming. Of course, many of my ideas here are not so good, but are there any ideas here you especially like or do you have any to add?
Feedback to your ideas
I like wipe free space and wipe free blocks.
Terms prevent file recovery and privacy sweep may not clearly distinguish it from another feature in the application that overwrites files (allocated space) while deleting them.
Brainstorming
Before "zeroing" in on a final solution, I did some brainstorming because this is an important, popular feature.
There may be an opportunity to capitalize on the name "BleachBit." Terms related to liquid bleach: clean, cleaning agent, disinfect, sanitize, germ killer, anti-mold/bacteria/virus, oxidizing agent, deodorize, whiten, color removal, scrub, broom, washing machine, laundry, dilution, household setting, medical setting, janitor, chemicals, acid (common misconception).
The final name could be in the form "(verb) (adjective) (object)."
Verbs include: bleach, clean, clear, decommission, delete, demagnetize, erase, expunge, format, flush (used for liquids and data), invalidate, obliterate, overwrite, mask, nullify, nuke, redact, purify, purge, sanitize, scrub, scramble, shred, sweep, whiten (like using liquid bleach), wipe, wipe, vacate, vaporize, void, zap, zero, zero-fill.
Adjectives include: abandoned, deleted, free, unused, unallocated, ghost, zombie, phantom, shadow, vacated, residual, available, transient, open, leftover, orphaned, stray, idle, inert.
Optional adverbs to modify adjective: securely, completely, permanently
Objects of the verb (i.e., nouns) include: bits, blocks, data, disk space, files, sectors, space, clusters, regions, storage, memory, nodes, extents.
The order could be reversed like from "flush free files" to "free file flusher," but I prefer verb first.
A unique, branded term (not in the verb-adjective-object form) may be helpful to avoid confusion with a preexisting idea, though I prefer a straightforward term.
BleachBlocks BleachDisk BitBroom BitScrub BitWipe Data Ghostbuster Shadow Shredder Disk Scrubber Byte Butler Bit Janitor
@az0 the main problem with that with SSD/NVMe disks that wiping free space probably won't work.
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1532199-deleting-a-file-permanently-on-a-ssd/
https://superuser.com/questions/1060831/triming-as-alternative-to-securely-erasing-a-ssd
So, we need to define the purpose of Wipe Free Space more clearly. "Trimming drive to make it faster"? "Zeroing out disk sectors"?
I think to be really useful, this BleachBit tool need to have some checks that data is really erased. So it needs to become a forensics tool itself. Of course, the only way to securely remove data from SSD is to destroy it, and that also raises questions - why somebody does this? - but maybe for 99.9999% users there is a no way to read the data without specialized equipment.
BleachBit can then have some "BleachBit Wipe Space Award" and certification levels to detect disks/drives that people tested and that:
Level 1: Don't have known ways to restore data programmatically. Level 2: Don't have known ways to restore data with direct hardware / firmware access. Level 11: Proven to have to ways to restore data programmatically. Level 12: Proven to have no way to restore data with hardware access.
Very much think this setting should be renamed to something like "Wipe Empty Space" or "Wipe Unused Blocks".
Also it REALLY needs a warning that it will take a long time and/or possibly make the system hang, or maybe not occupy all the space at once while trying to blank the data - especially if this happens on the main system drive. Do it in 4-16 GB blocks or something.
It's not especially good for SSDs if used frequently, either.
