An in-built Windows command-line tool that can be used to securely delete data by overwriting it to avoid their recovery in the future.

An in-built Windows command-line tool that can be used to securely delete data by overwriting it to avoid their recovery in the future.

• A. Meterpreter shell
• B. Cipher.exe
• C. Bash
• D. fsutil

Answer: (B)

Using a built-in Windows command-line tool to securely delete data by overwriting it is accomplished with cipher.exe, specifically the /w switch. Cipher can wipe the free space on a volume by overwriting it, which helps ensure remnants of deleted data can’t be recovered by forensic methods. This is a native Windows capability, unlike the other options: a Meterpreter shell is part of an exploitation framework, not a built-in Windows tool; Bash is a Unix/Linux shell (not a Windows-native secure delete tool); and fsutil is a file-system utility that handles tasks like space querying and file-system behavior but does not perform secure data deletion by overwriting.

Using a built-in Windows command-line tool to securely delete data by overwriting it is accomplished with cipher.exe, specifically the /w switch. Cipher can wipe the free space on a volume by overwriting it, which helps ensure remnants of deleted data can’t be recovered by forensic methods. This is a native Windows capability, unlike the other options: a Meterpreter shell is part of an exploitation framework, not a built-in Windows tool; Bash is a Unix/Linux shell (not a Windows-native secure delete tool); and fsutil is a file-system utility that handles tasks like space querying and file-system behavior but does not perform secure data deletion by overwriting.