Completely erasing hard drives

[JoeBlo1]

I was wondering if you guys can help me out. I'm in the process of replacing my old computer but I would like to ensure that my personal files are unrecoverable by wiping clean my hard drives, both internal and external. Hopefully, someone here knows a free, excellent piece of software that can achieve this. Identity theft is rampant and I want to minimize any risks when I finally dispose of my hard drives.

Thanks.

[jeffy777]

I've heard this free app works well, though haven't tried it myself:
http://dban.sourceforge.net/

Here's a vid from CNET's editor talking about this app and explaining how to use it, so it's reputable:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Completely_w...7-6786875.html

[Shawn]

Shouldn't doing a full format delete them as well as possible, short of having it professionally deleted/destroyed?

[jeffy777]

Originally Posted by Shawn

Shouldn't doing a full format delete them as well as possible, short of having it professionally deleted/destroyed?

"Formatting the hard drive is a bit more secure than simply erasing the files. Formatting a disk does not erase the data on the disk, only the address tables. It makes it much more difficult to recover the files. However a computer specialist would be able to recover most or all the data that was on the disk before the reformat. For those who accidentally reformat a hard disk, being able to recover most or all the data that was on the disk is a good thing. However, if you're preparing a system for retirement to charity or any other organization, this obviously makes you more vulnerable to data theft."

"For some businesses and individual users, a disk format may be something you consider secure enough, depending, of course, on the type of data and information you saved to your computer. As long as people understand that formatting is not a 100 percent secure way to completely remove all data from your computer, then they are able to make the choice between formatting and even more secure methods. If you have decided a disk format is a good choice, at the very least to do a full format rather than a quick format."
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/..._harddrive.asp

[Shawn]

^ Yeah, I think I know all that. I figured the quick format merely erased your index file, whereas doing a full format actually wipes the stuff of your drive (though it might be recoverable).

The difference in time between quick and full format is huge.

[jeffy777]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I would think that the time involved with a full format would take care of it, but apparently not according to what the experts say.

[JoeBlo1]

Thanks for the input. I'm no computer wizard but I'd like to perform enough erasing of the hard drives to ensure that even the most desperate people cannot recover the files.

[fluke667]

I heard good things about Eraser but haven't tried it myself.

[geeman]

Full format writes all the bits on the drive to 0, but it's still quite easy to determine what the bits were before the format. More secure way is to write random bits to the disk several times. Although nothing is 100% secure and it's amazing where the data recovery companies can recover data from.

[essentialatom]

http://www.willitblend.com/

[epp_b]

Terrabyte Unlimited's CopyWipe will do the job.

[Blind_Io]

I was trying to remember the name of a utility my friend uses for this that complies with DoD standards. When I get the name from him I will let you know.

[MadCow809]

Originally Posted by JoeBlo1

I was wondering if you guys can help me out. I'm in the process of replacing my old computer but I would like to ensure that my personal files are unrecoverable by wiping clean my hard drives, both internal and external. Hopefully, someone here knows a free, excellent piece of software that can achieve this. Identity theft is rampant and I want to minimize any risks when I finally dispose of my hard drives.

Thanks.

low level format or full format.

FDISK or just a full format under windows will do.

[hokiethang]

Originally Posted by JoeBlo1

Thanks for the input. I'm no computer wizard but I'd like to perform enough erasing of the hard drives to ensure that even the most desperate people cannot recover the files.

Jeffy777 is correct, you want to use DBAN. It's an open source system for "boot nuking" a drive, essentially rewriting the contents of the drive enough times that it is impossible to get back to the original data. You simply burn the ISO to a CD, and boot your computer off of it. Follow the instructions and you'll have a wiped drive in no time. DBAN supports a number of government protocols (DoD & RCMP), as well as some extreme (albeit overkill) wipes, such as the Gutmann Wipe, which does 35 passes with random data, and a final pass of zeros.

It's free to use, and very simple, and does a very good job.

[fluke667]

Originally Posted by Blind_Io

I was trying to remember the name of a utility my friend uses for this that complies with DoD standards.

Originally Posted by fluke667

Eraser

Originally Posted by Eraser

Other methods include the one defined in the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual of the US Department of Defence and overwriting with pseudorandom data. You can also define your own overwriting methods.

[JoeBlo1]

Will these software programs work on external hard drives as well? I'd like to start with those first.

[Steve Levin]

IMO, if you really want to be safe, just destroy the drives and then dispose of the remains in a dispersed fashion.

Steve

[epp_b]

The DoD standard is 3 or 7 wipes. CopyWipe can do up to 35.

low level format or full format.

FDISK or just a full format under windows will do.

No it won't.

[db2450]

You could always use this:

But more seriously, CopyWipe and DBAN are your best choices.

You could also format the drives to FAT32. (I would think you are using NTFS right now) What I use to format to FAT32 would be Ridgecrop Consultants' FAT 32 Formatter.

[Karoug]

A hammer will do nicely..