On Sunday 16 July 2006 08:13, Possum wrote:
> I have some hard drives here that have sensitive business data that must be
> completely erased and unrecoverable (even by forensic recovery). Will a
> full reformat of the drives suffice? Or can data still be recoverable? If
> not, then does anyone know an easy (preferably free) utility for doing
> this?
>
> Thanks,
> Possum
It depends on who gets hold of the drive. You have a scale where in one end
normal use format equals all data gone. But put in a lab by let's say NSA, or
some universities, will recover data seemingly from nowhere.
Some drive have what's called safe erase built into it which can be accessed
via hdparm. (-I, as in Ivan, will tell you).
Some uses a method of filling the drive with all random data. dd can do this.
Of course you can always open the drive and physically destroy it. If you
have the special tool, or drill to open it, you are set.
I'd probably just use dd myself as the chances of these specialized places
getting hold of the drive is normally very slim.
--Steve Szmidt
"To enjoy the right of political self-government, men must be capable of personal self-government - the virtue of self-control. A people without decency cannot be secure in its liberty. From the Declaration Principles ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by Networked Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.
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