Hard Drive destruction crucial

[Rattanaburi]

Destruction of Hard Drive crucial. Short BBC story

BBC NEWS | Technology | Hard drive destruction 'crucial'


The only way to stop fraudsters stealing information from old computer hard drives is by destroying them completely, a study has found.
Computing magazine Which? recovered 22,000 "deleted" files from eight computers purchased on eBay.
Criminals source old computers from internet auction sites or in rubbish tips, to find users' valuable details.
Freely available software can be used to recover files that users think they have permanently deleted.
The only solution, according to Which?, is complete destruction - and it recommends using a hammer.
A number of recent cases have shown the dangers in disposing of second-hand equipment, from which details as well as other personal files can be retrieved.
"PCs contain more valuable personal information than ever as people increasingly shop online, use social networking sites and take digital photos," said Sarah Kidner, editor of Which?.
"Such information could bring identity thieves a hefty payday." "It sounds extreme, but the only way to be 100% safe is to smash your hard drive into smithereens."






So if you sell your PC or trash it make sure you don't have anything on it that others might want.

[melvbot]

You can make it harder by formatting the drives properly, you can do a 35 times pass which writes zeros and ones all over the data on a Mac but it takes fecking ages.

Also a lot of people think that deleted in the trash means deleted when it doesnt, the data waits gets overwritten.

You can use this

Darik's Boot And Nuke | Hard Drive Disk Wipe

Or failing that borrow a friends industrial electromagnet to demagnetize the platters.

[Cujo]

Or failing that borrow a friends industrial electromagnet to demagnetize the platters.

Yea, my mates have those all over the place.

[benbaaa]

So are all these disk wipe programs telling us lies?

[lom]

So are all these disk wipe programs telling us lies?

No they are not, it is the magazine Which? that are exaggerating.
(Which! Computing is as reliable as The Sun is as a newspaper).

The best hard disk recovery labs can, if you are very lucky, retrieve part of files
from a wiped hard disk. They use advanced equipment to access remaining magnetic flux (spill) on the sides of the tracks and charge an arm and a leg for their services.

I don't believe that fraudsters are willing to spend that money on a hard disk
with unknown contents.

A low level format should be safe enough, no need to "smash your hard drive into smithereens".

[Gerbil]

Stick it in your microwave on high for 5 minutes.



..... then buy a new microwave.

[Whiteshiva]

If you are nerdy enough (I know I am) it is actually quite fun to pick them apart over a beer or two - facinating stuff.

There are also some small but pretty powerful magnets inside.

[Takeovers]

A low level format should be safe enough, no need to "smash your hard drive into smithereens".

The low level format by itself won't do the trick. Run a good delete and then low level format. But really, a good smack with a heavy hammer is faster.

But I agree completely with you that data recovery of a well wiped Hard Disk is prohibitively expensive and only for essential files, not for just scanning through crap to see if something interesting is there.
And a defective drive is not save to throw away. They sometimes work very well for a short period if well cooled in a freezer. That's not a recovery tip for essential data because it can work or it can destroy more.

[nidhogg]

A low level format should be safe enough, no need to "smash your hard drive into smithereens".

The low level format by itself won't do the trick. Run a good delete and then low level format. But really, a good smack with a heavy hammer is faster.

But I agree completely with you that data recovery of a well wiped Hard Disk is prohibitively expensive and only for essential files, not for just scanning through crap to see if something interesting is there.
And a defective drive is not save to throw away. They sometimes work very well for a short period if well cooled in a freezer. That's not a recovery tip for essential data because it can work or it can destroy more.

A well wiped disk, yes. But the problem is that most people "delete" the files, and as I understand it, that does not "delete" the files, it only deletes the location of the sectors where the files are stored? The information is actually there until it gets overwritten by some other data?

Questions marks as I am not a computer nerd.

[baldrick]

bwahahaha,
I just fill it with goatse pics a couple of times and hope some one snoops before they format it

[benbaaa]

Before you all go out and buy hammers, you might try erasing your *ahem* sensitive data using one of the many free utilities that does it for you. I use Glary Utilities. If you go to Modules > Privacy and Security > File Shredder > Wipe Free Space you get a dialogue box which lets you choose which drives to wipe. Once wiped, your *ahem* sensitive data can't be recovered.

[Bung]

Just reminded me I changed hard drives recently and have no idea where the old one is....better go look for it.

[baldrick]

the problem arises when your HD and its controller decides that sectors on your HD are no safe to use any more , so it helpfully copies those sectors to another area on your HD whilst marking the old sectors as not to be written to.
so your launch codes for you personal ICBMs are still there is those sectors and using the wiping utilities they will not write to those sectors - so your next door neighbour NSA scientist can take his electron microscope and read the state of the bits on the sectors you did not manage to write goatse to and then use your launch codes to fire those rockets you had been saving for a rainy day

well , in theory anyway

[benbaaa]

^ That is disturbing, Balders. My next door neighbours don't look like NASA scientists with electron microscopes, but I suppose you can never really tell...

[lom]

Don't worry over NASA scientists Benners, they are harmless.
The NSA guys on the other hand are dodgier than the CIA.

[baldrick]

^ That is disturbing, Balders.

be disturbed benbaa , be very very disturbed.
I have been a disturbed individual for quite some time now

[britmaveric]

Wipe it, then take a hammer to it - then pull it apart - making confetti out of the magnetic data disc.