Securely Erasing Data Just Got Easier - Comments Page 1

Category: Hard-Drives



All Comments on: "Securely Erasing Data Just Got Easier"

Comment Page: 1 |  2 

Posted by:

DiDi
03 Aug 2016

Bob, I've got several old laptops that stopped working and have, in succession, been replaced. I want to dispose of them but worry about leaving data on the hard drives. I can't get into the computers because they don't work. A friend had retrieved whatever he could off my last one 5 years ago, I think possibly by using an external hard drive, but he's no longer alive to help me and I'm trying to get rid of things, including these old computers. I've heard I need to take a hammer to the hard drives so I can destroy them. Goodwill also says they'll take them for parts, so I can donate the carcasses after I removemailed and destroy the hard drives, according to the guy receiving donations. I haven't done it yet because I'm going to have to go find one of those little screwdrivers to pry open the cases. Is this the best way to protect whatever I have left on these laptops or is there an easier way to do this? Thanks!!

Posted by:

Steve P
03 Aug 2016

I got a screw driver kit with about 2 dozen interchangeable heads for about $10 then spent the evening removing old hard drives and then the disk itself. A learning experience for me and sort of fun. Then used the disks for target practice - they were destroyed and I had some fun with them.

Posted by:

Shaun
03 Aug 2016

Do not forget to remove RAM modules, as I've read somewhere that snippets of data can be gleaned from them. And with their capacity extending several Gigabytes those chunks could contain useful data.

Posted by:

Jay R
03 Aug 2016

You don't have to be packing to get the drop on a PC like mine. I like Steve P's approach. All the files will be "in-crypted". Or in-landfilled.

Posted by:

tom-tom
03 Aug 2016

In my 70 years, I sometimes thought I had to erase my HDD -but- in reality this was never actually needed. People who watch crime shows (myself included) see a lot of HDDs recovered by the cops, because the bad guy mistakenly thought it was erased (but forgot the backup disk -or cloud?). I imagine that some people have info (problems?) to erase. I don't know anyone like that... I think.

Posted by:

John
03 Aug 2016

Wouldn't a sledgehammer erase a data, even from the feds!

Posted by:

Jeff C
03 Aug 2016

Been in the IT field for nearly 30 years now, and I've always just used a drill (and 1/4" bit) to drill through the HDD platters. Gone forever after that, and the place where I recycle all my old hardware (client and personal) has no problem taking them ...

Posted by:

Nick Iacovelli
03 Aug 2016

get minitools free on a bootcd
securely erase your drives

I also notice after i reuse the drive everything seems faster

http://minitool.com/partition-manager/partition-wizard-bootable.html

Posted by:

Jeri
03 Aug 2016

CCleaner has a Drive Wiper. Under the Tools section.
You can choose the whole drive or free space only. Works on USB attached drives.
Choose 1 pass or multiple passes.
They say 1 pass is fine, but I choose 3 just to be safe. The more passes - the longer it takes.

Posted by:

Charles
03 Aug 2016

I have always removed my old hard drives and then destroyed them. Using a drill sounds nice and surgical; however, a twelve pound sledge hammer leaves one feeling quite satisfied :-)

I usually recycle the rest of the hardware due to the fact that most folks don't want equipment that is as old as what I'm getting rid of. Looked into donating it, no takers.

Posted by:

Walt vdH
03 Aug 2016

I believe that most people have no need to be that cautious. As to myself, I'm just not that important that anyone else is interested----on the other, I may not be much, but I'm all I think about.
There are people, though, who definitely should be more cautious in order to avoid legal civil and criminal penalties, such as government officials communicating sensitive or secret information. Lesser officials such as lawyers and accountants often do not safeguard client information properly, which might destroy the company.

I wonder as a practical matter, whether it might not be easier, cheaper and less time consuming to destroy the old hard drive and buy a new one. This might be a good idea if the data drive has a lot of hours on it, nearing the end of its reliable life anyway.

Just some brain droppings.

Posted by:

bb
03 Aug 2016

A lot of mis-information is floating around on this topic.

First, "until data has been overwritten many times, it can still be recovered by a determined person" is wrong. This may have been true 40 years ago, but with modern HDs, say anything made in the last 10 years, a *single* pass of even just zeros is sufficient to render recovery impossible. Not even 3-letter agencies can recover data from a single zero DBAN write.*

Source: Scott Moulton of "My Hard Drive Died" or www.mhdd.com, one of the big guys in data recovery and forensics. See http://podnutz.com/mhdd027/ starting at 36:15 into the audio where I asked specifically this question. *One caveat: Any user HD wipe program cannot erase the original sector of relocated sectors - but secure erase does overwrite these normally hidden bad blocks.

Therefore, for the fastest full disk wipe, a Standard (no enhanced) Secure Erase is all that is needed. Note if otherwise unmarked bad blocks are present, Secure Erase can render a HD unusable. (It's very hard to wipe a non-working HD! Then it's time for the big hammer.)

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the almost instant irrecoverable method of 'erasing' an HD: Providing full-disk encryption was used, just throw away the key. Recommend Versacrypt as it's open source and one does not have to trust Microsoft, Apple, or other big company.

Shaun: When power is removed from RAM the data is gone within a second. There have been fun experiments where running RAM has been frozen with liquid Nitrogen and then transferred to another computer and read. Strictly lab stuff and fodder for TV and movies.

Posted by:

bb
03 Aug 2016

Shoot. That website was supposed to be http://myharddrivedied.com/ - MHDD is an unrelated (free) tool for low-level HD manipulation.

Posted by:

Frank MacKenzie-Lamb
03 Aug 2016

I'd say a hammer is easier if you aren't going to be using the HD anymore......smash it up good

Posted by:

Darcetha
03 Aug 2016

Glad to hear that there is an easier way to securely erase data.

Posted by:

Therrito
03 Aug 2016

I like the "Encrypt/Reformat/Encrypt Again" concept. I'll have to try that the next time I wipe a drive.
Great article, Bob!

Posted by:

Flav.
04 Aug 2016

Hey Didi, the sledgehammer works beautifully!
End of worries!

Posted by:

noseitall
04 Aug 2016

A sledge hammer works well, and quickly. But if you have several drives to erase at once, how about a 450-degree oven for a couple hours?

Posted by:

pscowboy
04 Aug 2016

The bootable cd will not work with SATA opticals.
All the drivers included on the cd are for IDE cd-dvd drives.
Spent hours working on a fix to no avail, including the gcdrom.sys driver.
An external USB optical will work in this case.

Posted by:

sidehillman
04 Aug 2016

Just leave in the "burn barrel" for a while.

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