                              <=- Wipe v3.0 -=>
                           RELEASE 2 (Jan 2, 1997)

Copyright (C) 1996-97, Jem E. Berkes
bP Software

*** WIPE v3.0 IS SHAREWARE! YOU MAY USE IT, FREE OF CHARGE, FOR ONE MONTH.
AFTER THAT TRIAL PERIOD, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO REGISTER "WIPE" WITH THE AUTHOR
BY MAILING TO HIM THE REGISTRATION FEE. WE TRUST THAT YOU WILL CHOOSE NOT TO
BREAK THE LAW. PLEASE SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS DOCUMENT FOR MAILING ADDRESS ***

WIPE is a data security utility which is used to permanently erase files.
Normally, a deleted file can be viewed or undeleted with special software. But
when a file is "wiped out", data recovery becomes practically impossible. Wipe
can delete files that are up to 4 gigabytes in size, and will delete a file no
matter what its attribute is (hidden, read only, etc.)

                  <=- Program enhancements/improvements -=>

Wipe v3.0 features:

* Full effectiveness on compressed drives
* Tremendous speed improvement: up to 100 times as fast as before
* Support for Microsoft(R) Windows(TM), and an included icon
* Improved error detecting and handling
* ERRORLEVEL support
* Everything inside a 2.3 KB file
* Only requires 67 KB of conventional memory for full deletion

In tests, Wipe v3.0 performed up to 100 times as fast as the previous version
of Wipe, and erased files at rates up to 990 KB/SEC. At this rate, it would be
possible to clear a 1 GB hard drive of all its data in just under 18 minutes!

                          <=- System Requirements -=>

To run Wipe, you must have at least:

- Any IBM or compatible PC
- MS-DOS v2.0 or a compatible DOS such as IBM/PC-DOS or Novell/Digital/DR-DOS
- 67 KB of memory (for full deletion)

                            <=- Operating Modes -=>

Wipe can operate in two modes:
1. Full deletion
2. Quick deletion

These are explained in detail below:

(1) FULL DELETION
       In this mode, a large file will take longer to delete than a small
file because the data is actually being overwritten. Wipe overwrites the data
quite quickly; on a 386 computer, the rate of erasing is about 100 KB/sec. On
a Pentium, rates can reach and exceed 1 MB/sec. During full deletion, you
will see a percentage display indicating how much of the file is deleted (note 
that percentage increments are not always 1%). Once the deleting is completed,
you will see the message "DONE" replace the percentage value. The advantage of
using this mode is that even a powerful disk management utility will not be
able to recover the original data in the file. Wipe uses this mode by default.

(2) QUICK DELETION
       This is a fast deletion method that will delete a large file just as
quickly as a small file. If a file is undeleted after Wipe deletes it using
this mode, the file's length will appear as 0, and it will contain nothing.
However, advanced disk management utilities may be able to recover the file's
original data because it is not actually overwritten. Because full deletion
does not take much longer, it is the default mode. If you wish to use quick
deletion, you must tell Wipe this by adding the /Q switch to the command line.

                          <=- HOW TO USE WIPE -=>

You should first copy WIPE.COM to your C:\DOS or C:\ directory. Then type:
WIPE [drive:][path]filename.ext [/Noprompt] [/Quick] [/Hide] [/Keep]

[drive:][path]
       You may specify a pathname for Wipe to delete files in. However, a root
directory specification such as A:\*.* is not allowed, but you can get the
desired result by using two back slashes: A:\\*.*. This will, hopefully, keep
you from accidentally wiping out important system files in the root directory.

filename.ext
       This is the file that you want to delete. You can delete multiple
files by using a wildcard. For example, you can use the name TEST.FIL or the
wildcard *.FIL, which means all the files ending in the FIL.

/Noprompt
       If you don't want Wipe to ask you if it's OK to delete each file, you
can type /noprompt after the file name. You can shorten this to /n. Deletion
confirmation is automatically enabled if you don't use this switch. For each
file to be deleted, Wipe will ask you to type in Y (yes), N (no), or A (yes
for all files). Pressing any other key is the equivalent of 'no'.

/Quick
       This tells Wipe to use quick deletion instead of full deletion. It can
be shortened to /q.

/Hide
       When this switch is used, the names of the files you are deleting will
not be shown anywhere on the screen. May be shortened to /h.

/Keep
       Does not scramble the file's name before deleting it. Unless this is
used, all file names are destroyed. May be shortened to /k.

                      <=- Using Wipe under Windows -=>

If you are using Wipe under Windows 3.x or Windows 95, Wipe will automatically
detect this. So if you double click on WIPE.COM from File Manager (or Windows
Explorer), or create an icon for Wipe and double click on it, Wipe will start
and ask you to enter the options you would like to use. For example, if you
type "WIPE C:\TEMP\*.*" from DOS, you would type in "C:\TEMP\*.*" in response
to the "Enter options -> " prompt. If you do start up Wipe with parameters in
Windows, Wipe will not prompt you for any more input. The "Enter options ->"
prompt is designed for those people who want the versatility of a DOS command
under a Windows environment.

To create an icon for Wipe under Windows 3.x:
1. Select a Program Manager group.
2. Click on "File" from the Program Manager menu and click on "New..."
3. Select OK.
4. Enter a description, such as "Wipe v3.0", then press TAB.
5. Enter WIPE.COM for the command line, then press TAB.
6. Enter the default directory you would like WIPE to start up from.
7. Click on "Change Icon..."
8. Click OK in response to the warning.
9. Type in the path of Wipe's icon, (e.g. C:\DOS\WIPE.ICO) and press ENTER.
10. Click OK.

To set up a shortcut for Wipe under Windows 95:
1. Point to a blank position on the wallpaper.
2. Click the right mouser button.
3. Move the mouse pointer to "New..." and wait for a second
4. Click on "Shortcut" with the left mouse button.
5. Type "WIPE" and press ENTER.
6. Type a name such as "Wipe v3.0" and press ENTER.
7. Double click with the left mouse button on an icon of your choice.
** THEN, (IF YOU WOULD PREFER USING THE INCLUDED ICON FOR WIPE)...
8. Point to Wipe's shortcut and click the right mouse button.
9. Point to "Properties" and click the left mouse button.
10. Click on the "Program" tab.
11 Click on "Change icon" (near the bottom of the window).
12. Type "WIPE.ICO" and press ENTER.
13. Click OK, then click OK again to save the changes.

                              <=- Examples! -=>

Here are some valid uses of Wipe:
wipe c:\temp\*.* /n /q /k
wipe *.bak /n /k
wipe a:\\*.exe
wipe \here\*.all

Here are some INVALID uses of Wipe:
wipe c:\files.bak

                     <=- Some technical information -=>

To see if you have enough memory to use full deletion, type MEM at the DOS
prompt and press ENTER. The line that reads "Largest executable program size"
tells you how much conventional memory you have. You will be able to perform
full deletion if the value shown is above 68384 bytes (or approx. 67 KB).

During deletion, CTRL+C or CTRL+BREAK may be pressed to stop the process and
return to the system. After pressing the break key, you must still wait for
the current file deleting process to complete.

You may notice that your cursor has disappeared while Wipe is working. This is
not a problem with Wipe. The cursor is hidden to reduce the time it takes to
show the percentage value.

For full deletion, Wipe generates a block of random data then writes it to
the file you want to delete. Once all the data is overwritten, Wipe completes
the task by going to the quick deletion part of the program.

Quick deletion consists of truncating the file (setting its length to 0) and
then, unless otherwised requsted, changing the file's name to XXXXXXXX.XXX.
The file is then deleted.

Wipe, like most other programs, returns a code to DOS once it has finished
running. The code, called the ERRORLEVEL, is a number between 0 and 255 that
can give the user an idea of what has happened. Wipe uses these codes:

 0  - OKAY: No errors encountered
 1  - INPUT ERROR: No parameters specified
 2  - FILE SHARING ERROR: Invalid (illegal) function
 3  - FILE ERROR: File not found
 4  - PATH ERROR: Invalid path or path not found
 5  - SYSTEM ERROR: No more file handles available
 6  - FILE ERROR: Access denied to file
 7  - MEMORY ERROR: Memory setup failure
 8  - MEMORY ERROR: Insufficient memory
 9  - EXECUTION ERROR: User pressed CTRL+C or CTRL+BREAK to stop Wipe
255 - UNKNOWN ERROR

This information will probably only help you if you write batch files.

                     <=- Now *THIS* is important!!! -=>

Wipe is shareware. You may use it for a month for trial purposes only. If you
decide that you like the software and wish to continue using it, you must send
a registration fee to the author. The cost of the software is only $15 for one
person. If the software is used in a business, or installed on a LAN server,
where it is available to more than one person, the cost is $35 (an unlimited
number of people may then use the software legally). The shareware concept can
only work if people are honest, so please mail in your registration.

                             <=- Legal Stuff -=>

YOU USE THIS PROGRAM AT YOUR OWN RISK! ALTHOUGH THE CODE WAS DESIGNED WITH THE
UPMOST CARE AND WAS TESTED ON NUMEROUS SYSTEMS, THE AUTHOR CAN NOT PREDICT THE
ATMOSPHERE OR CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH YOU USE THE SOFWTARE. THE AUTHOR IS
NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DATA LOSS THAT WILL BE CAUSED BY WIPE. REVERSE ENGINEERING
OF WIPE IS PROHBITED BY THE AUTHOR.

YOU MAY DISTRIBUTE THIS UTILITY AS LONG AS THE RECIPIANTS ARE AWARE OF THIS
INFORMATION AND KNOW THAT "WIPE" IS UNREGISTERED SHAREWARE. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO
USE WIPE FREE OF CHARGE FOR ONE MONTH. AFTER THAT, YOU MUST REGISTER IT.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check for viruses or tampering! File info for Wipe version 3.0 Release 2:

File name: WIPE.COM
File size: 2,333 bytes
File time: 3:08 pm
File date: 01-02-97 (January 2, 1997)
It is possible that the file's date and time will vary when archiving/copying.

The author's mailing address is provided below. For registration, please
include your full name and address (all information is kept confidential), as
well as the $15/person or $35/unlimited license you wish to purchase. It will
help us if you can run the Wipe Registration program (type WIPEREG).

Jem Berkes
185 Waverley Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3M 3K4
Canada

bP - http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~berkes/bp.htm (email is Berkes@umanitoba.ca)