Slideshow: Total data destruction: how to wipe out your hard

[ChrisGreaves]

http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/slideshow/Destroy_Data/

Unverified. For your Interest/Amusemeny only.

[HansV]

What are we having for breakfast today?
Hard Disk Shreddies, dear...

[ChrisGreaves]

What are we having for breakfast today?
Hard Disk Shreddies, dear...

At least it wasn't a cereal device.

[BobArch2]

http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/slideshow/Destroy_Data/

Unverified. For your Interest/Amusement only.

Interesting... to say the least.

I used to have a couple of apps, Norton and Webroot that would secure the HD by writing 0's throughout the drive.

Now? I use the sledgehammer approach when disposing of unwanted HD's.

[StuartR]

...Unverified. For your Interest/Amusemeny only.

Hard drive shredders can often be seen at conferences such as Infosec Europe, they are impressive devices.

[BobH]

Acronis True Image Home includes utilities for cleaning hard drives. I've not used it yet and don't know what standards - if any - it meets.

[viking33]

Acronis True Image Home includes utilities for cleaning hard drives. I've not used it yet and don't know what standards - if any - it meets.

Acronis DriveCleanser allows you to perform the following:
Clean up the selected hard disks or partitions using preset algorithms.
Create and execute custom user algorithms of hard disk clean-up.
Acronis DriveCleanser is based on a wizard that scripts all hard disk operations, so no data destruction is performed until you execute the complete script. At any stage, you can return to the previous stages to select other disks or partitions or data destruction algorithms.

The preset algorithms include overwriting with all zeros or all ones or a pattern of ones and zeros or a random selection of ones and zeros. Also you can select the number of overwrites. It meets government & DOD ( Department of Defense ) standards for security.

This type of "cleansing" is the way to go, if you are, for instance, going to donate your old system to another person and want to make sure your old files and data are no longer recoverable. Much neater than the sledgehammer approach.

[BobH]

Thanks, Bob!

I haven't had occasion to use Acronis to wipe a hard drive yet. Thanks for reassuring us about its functions.