AceErase now provides Command Line Options for the "Shred Your Tracks" feature. You can use these command line options in combination with the Windows® Task Scheduler to schedule automatic shredding of your computer and internet history.

Read "How do I Schedule AceErase to Run Automatically?" for more information.

Important Note! Command line options should only be used by advanced computer users.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 Users Only: In order to bypass the User Account Control (UAC) confirmation dialog that is displayed by Windows® when shredding certain items that require administrator privileges (such as Cookies, Temporary Internet Files, and Internet History) you must run the command prompt using "Run as Administrator".

Please use caution when shredding any files or folders on your computer.
Once an item is shredded it will be permanently unrecoverable. The shred process can not be reversed!

Usage:

           AceErase.exe [ -auto [stealth][shutdown][nolog][noconfirm] ]  [ -help ]

          (Note: parameters in '[ ]' are optional. Do not type the '[ ]'s.)

'-auto' switch (example: AceErase -auto ):
AceErase runs automatically and begins shredding un-interrupted using the current options and Shred Your Tracks settings. No messages, warnings, or confirmation dialogs are displayed during shredding. The AceErase application is displayed during shredding and closes automatically when done.

Optional arguments for the '-auto' switch (order does not matter):

• 'stealth' (example: AceErase -auto stealth ):
  Hide the AceErase application window during shredding and don't display any messages, warnings, or confirmation messages while shredding is in progress. (Similar to using '-auto' alone, but 'stealth' hides the AceErase application window.) If used in conjunction with 'shutdown' it will also shutdown the system immediately after shredding is done, forcing all open applications to close and will NOT warn the user or allow the user time to cancel the system shutdown operation.
  
  Note: an initial confirmation message showing current options and settings will be displayed before shredding is started when using this 'stealth' option. To force shredding to start immediately with no initial confirmation use the 'noconfirm' option together with 'stealth' example: aceerase -auto stealth noconfirm )


• 'shutdown' (example: AceErase -auto shutdown ) :
  Perform a system shutdown of Windows when done shredding. If used WITHOUT the 'stealth' option, it displays a 'System shutting down' warning message and gives the user 60 seconds to cancel the shutdown. If used WITH the 'stealth' option, it will shutdown the system immediately after shredding is done, forcing all open applications to close and will NOT warn the user or allow the user to cancel the shutdown.


• 'nolog' (example: AceErase -auto nolog ):
  Do not log anything to the AceErase log. This setting bypasses any "log level" settings selected under the Options dialog.


• 'noconfirm' (example: AceErase -auto noconfirm ):
  Don't display the initial confirmation message listing the current AceErase settings/options before starting to shred. This is useful when you want to use command line options to schedule an automatic shredding operation using current settings.

'-help' switch: (example: AceErase -help ):
Display help on using the command line options.

Example Usage Scenarios

- Display a confirmation message listing the current settings BEFORE starting the shredding process, run AceErase automatically using the current settings, do not display any warnings or confirmation messages AFTER the shredding process has begun, show the application while running and close the application when done.

- DO NOT display a confirmation message listing the current settings BEFORE starting the shredding process, run AceErase automatically using the current settings, do not display any warnings or confirmation messages AFTER the shredding process has begun, show the application window while running and close the application when done.

- Display an initial confirmation message listing the current settings BEFORE starting the shredding process, run AceErase automatically using the current settings, do not display any warnings or confirmation messages AFTER the shredding process has begun, run AceErase in stealth mode (hide the application window).

- Display an initial confirmation message listing the current settings BEFORE starting the shredding process, run AceErase automatically using the current settings, do not display any warnings or confirmation messages AFTER the shredding process has begun, run AceErase in stealth mode (HIDE the application window), shutdown the computer automatically when done, canceling the shutdown is not possible!

- Display an initial confirmation message listing the current settings BEFORE starting the shredding process, run AceErase automatically using the current settings, do not display any warnings or confirmation messages AFTER the shredding process has begun, SHOW the application window while running, shutdown the computer when done but give the user a chance to cancel the shutdown (60 seconds).

- Display an initial confirmation message listing the current settings BEFORE starting the shredding process, run AceErase automatically using the current settings, do not display any warnings or confirmation messages AFTER the shredding process has begun, HIDE the application window while running (stealth mode), DO NOT log anything to the AceErase log (even if errors occur), shutdown the computer automatically when done, canceling shutdown is not possible!

- DO NOT display an initial confirmation listing the current settings BEFORE starting the shredding process, run AceErase automatically using the current settings, DO NOT display any warnings or confirmations AFTER the shredding process has begun, HIDE the application window while running (stealth mode), DO NOT log anything to the AceErase log (even if errors occur), shutdown the computer automatically when done, canceling shutdown is will not possible! Please be careful with this setting! This is the most covert setting, be sure you know what you are doing!