Skeletons on your hard drive

pr0digal jenius · Apr 20, 2005, 01:34 PM

Tax records, resumes, photo albums--the modern hard drive can keep increasingly larger volumes of information at the ready. But that can turn into a problem when it comes to effectively erasing the devices.

There are a number of options for cleansing the drives of unwanted computers, from special wiping software to destruction services to manufacturers' recycling programs. But what many PC owners don't realize, experts say, is that these methods are often not enough.

"For people who want to sell or donate a computer, who are trying to protect their checkbook or medical info, you can expect to protect yourself against all but the most sophisticated attacks with wiping," said Stephen Lawton, the director of marketing at Acronis, a maker of wiping tools, backup and recovery software. "But you have to use the software the right way."
_________________
Source/Read More: C|Net News

pr0digal jenius · Apr 20, 2005, 01:35 PM

Belt sander and a powerdrill will wipe anything that absolutely, positively, HAS to be erased

Vikingod · Apr 20, 2005, 02:07 PM

you mean the porn I used to collect is still on my HD, oh shit, don't tell my wife.

pr0digal jenius · Apr 20, 2005, 02:10 PM

*whip crack*

>GSXR<mrbusa · Apr 20, 2005, 04:10 PM

i use windows washer and bleach with peter guttman standards on sensitive material.that is 35 passes on each instance.it takes forever and probably deteriorates a drive faster but with financial records and "home movies" and photos it is well worth it.buy the way my "home movies" are for sale,just dont tell my wife.LOL

Matth · Apr 20, 2005, 04:19 PM

A big difference between erasing against in-drive recovery, and against theoretical retrival of traces.

http://dban.sourceforge.net/ - an ideal free tool for "sanitizing" a hard disk - I'd avoid "in situ" cleaning around an installed OS, as there could be goodness knows what hiding in the registry - just make sure you retrieve any software keys that are required, if you can't find the original record of them!

Pluvious · Apr 20, 2005, 07:49 PM

I use a free program called Eraser which intergrates itself into your trash bin and you can customize the degree of hard-drive cleaning. You can also erase free hard drive space as well. HIGHLY RECOMMENED!

http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/

Zelig · Apr 20, 2005, 08:03 PM

I never properly clean any of my hard drives unless I'm giving them away or selling them for some reason.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Apr 20, 2005, 08:11 PM

I'd be verry suprised if they could get a hold of mine...not even with a electron microscope

MitchRapp · Apr 21, 2005, 01:48 AM

hmm if i wanted to sell my hdd and make sure nothing personal is still around .... i'd just format it and then copy the same 700mb movie until the 111gb (120gb) hard drive is full ....
i mean ..... it'll copy the movie over any other file that may still be around right?

isn't the ideal solution to fill it up with junk?

orrrr get a 100% sure whiper..... if that exists

Matth · Apr 21, 2005, 05:00 PM

Junk-filling is a pretty good cover... the linux bods would probably have a single command line that would "copy" the random device to the physical HD unit.

http://www.aerospacesoftware.com/autoinstall-howto.html

Quote:

If you are paranoid or work with sensitive information, then you can use dd to erase a disk drive before you junk a workstation. Once overwritten with zeroes or worse - random numbers - it becomes very difficult to recover any data from the drive - though not completely impossible. Overwriting with pseudo-random numbers is easy, but this is even slower than overwriting with zeroes. You need a huge mug of coffee and much patience, since the experience is somewhat like watching paint dry, as it can take more than 30 minutes to copy a large disk:

# dd if=/dev/random of=/dev/hda

No matter how many times you overwrite the data on a hard disk, the original data can still be recovered with special tools, but few people have the need, the money and patience to do that. You can use the same method to erase a floppy disk, but it is so easy to recover data off a used floppy disk, that it is not worth the trouble. If you really need to destroy a floppy disk, use a pair of scissors and if you really need to destroy a hard disk, use a very big hammer...

The thing to remember, a single wipe puts the data beyond recovery by any practical software tools, as anything remaining requires analysis of the edges where the head track is not accurate, and small percentage variations - to a normal drive electronics, they are just noise.

Apr 20, 2005, 01:34 PM	#1
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	Skeletons on your hard drive Tax records, resumes, photo albums--the modern hard drive can keep increasingly larger volumes of information at the ready. But that can turn into a problem when it comes to effectively erasing the devices. There are a number of options for cleansing the drives of unwanted computers, from special wiping software to destruction services to manufacturers' recycling programs. But what many PC owners don't realize, experts say, is that these methods are often not enough. "For people who want to sell or donate a computer, who are trying to protect their checkbook or medical info, you can expect to protect yourself against all but the most sophisticated attacks with wiping," said Stephen Lawton, the director of marketing at Acronis, a maker of wiping tools, backup and recovery software. "But you have to use the software the right way." _________________ Source/Read More: C\|Net News

Apr 20, 2005, 07:49 PM	#7
Pluvious Elisha = hottie Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: USA CA. SF Bay Area Posts: 1,318 Rep Power: 0	I use a free program called Eraser which intergrates itself into your trash bin and you can customize the degree of hard-drive cleaning. You can also erase free hard drive space as well. HIGHLY RECOMMENED! http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/ __________________

Apr 20, 2005, 08:03 PM	#8
Zelig HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 3,187 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	I never properly clean any of my hard drives unless I'm giving them away or selling them for some reason. __________________ --

Apr 20, 2005, 08:11 PM	#9
The_Neon_Cowboy HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 16,009 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	I'd be verry suprised if they could get a hold of mine...not even with a electron microscope __________________

Apr 20, 2005, 01:35 PM	Thread Starter #2
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	Belt sander and a powerdrill will wipe anything that absolutely, positively, HAS to be erased

Apr 20, 2005, 02:07 PM	#3
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,197 Rep Power: 112 System Specs	you mean the porn I used to collect is still on my HD, oh shit, don't tell my wife.

Apr 20, 2005, 02:10 PM	Thread Starter #4
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	whip crack

Apr 20, 2005, 04:10 PM	#5
>GSXR<mrbusa im a FREAK Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 2,107 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	i use windows washer and bleach with peter guttman standards on sensitive material.that is 35 passes on each instance.it takes forever and probably deteriorates a drive faster but with financial records and "home movies" and photos it is well worth it.buy the way my "home movies" are for sale,just dont tell my wife.LOL

Apr 20, 2005, 04:19 PM	#6
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,426 Rep Power: 93 System Specs	A big difference between erasing against in-drive recovery, and against theoretical retrival of traces. http://dban.sourceforge.net/ - an ideal free tool for "sanitizing" a hard disk - I'd avoid "in situ" cleaning around an installed OS, as there could be goodness knows what hiding in the registry - just make sure you retrieve any software keys that are required, if you can't find the original record of them!

Apr 21, 2005, 01:48 AM	#10
MitchRapp a.k.a. pepiman Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Montreal Posts: 998 Rep Power: 51 System Specs	hmm if i wanted to sell my hdd and make sure nothing personal is still around .... i'd just format it and then copy the same 700mb movie until the 111gb (120gb) hard drive is full .... i mean ..... it'll copy the movie over any other file that may still be around right? isn't the ideal solution to fill it up with junk? orrrr get a 100% sure whiper..... if that exists