| BleachBit | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Screenshot of the Bleachbit 4.0.0User Interface onGNOME Shell | |
| Initial release | 24 December 2008; 17 years ago (2008-12-24) |
| Stable release | |
| Written in | Python |
| Operating system | Windows macOS Linux |
| Size | 11.3–12.1MB (Windows) |
| Available in | 64 languages[2] |
| Type | Disk cleaner |
| License | GNU General Public License |
| Website | www |
| Repository | |
BleachBit is afree and open-sourcedisk space cleaner,privacy manager, and computer system optimizer. The BleachBit source code is licensed under theGNU General Public License version 3.
BleachBit was first publicly released on 24 December 2008 forLinux systems.[3] The 0.2.1 release created some controversy[4] by suggesting Linux needed aregistry cleaner.
Version 0.4.0 introduced CleanerML,[5] a standards-basedmarkup language for writing new cleaners. On May 29, 2009, BleachBit version 0.5.0 added support forWindows XP,Windows Vista, andWindows 7.[6] On September 16, 2009, version 0.6.4 introducedcommand-line interface support.[7]
BleachBit is written in thePython programming language and usesPyGTK.
Most of BleachBit's cleaners are written in CleanerML,[8] anopen standardXML-based markup language for writing cleaners.[9] CleanerML deals not only with deleting files, but also executes more specialized actions, such as vacuuming anSQLite database (used, for example, to cleanYum).
BleachBit's file shredder uses only a single, "secure" pass[10] because its developers believe that there is a lack of evidence that multiple passes, such as the 35-passGutmann method, are more effective. They also assert that multiple passes are significantly slower and may give the user a false sense of security by overshadowing other ways in which privacy may be compromised.[11]
Bleachbit was used to eraseemails on Hillary Clinton's private server during her time as Secretary of State during the Obama administration.[12]
In August 2016, Republican U.S. CongressmanTrey Gowdy announced that he had seen notes from theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), taken during an investigation of Clinton's emails, that stated that her staff had used BleachBit in order to delete tens of thousands of emails on her private server.[13][14] Subsequently, then presidential nomineeDonald Trump claimed Clinton had “acid washed” and “bleached” her emails, calling it “an expensive process.”[15]
After the announcement, BleachBit's company website reportedly received increased traffic.[16][17]
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