How to securely erase your hard drive, How to Wipe a Hard Drive , Permanently Erase Everything? Over the years and computers, many of us tend to go by storing several old hard disks in a drawer or a closet. Too old and too short to be useful, but too full of “knowing what” data to throw them off cheerfully or just settle for formatting them.
After all, simply formatting a hard drive is not the most definitive way to remove the data it contains. That’s why today we bring you a small collection of several free tools with which to safely remove all data from your hard drive. We have everything for both classic HDD hard drives and solid state SSDs, and we also try not to be Windows-only applications. How to securely erase your hard drive, How to Wipe a Hard Drive , Permanently Erase Everything?
Why use software to erase data? Data Removal Solutions
Safe data deletion is not only a “end of life” need but a constant requirement for the proper management of digital goods – and data – at each interval of their life cycle. Companies must secure their important data and equipment during different life-cycle transitions to comply with legal and regulatory requirements.
Avoid security threats by deleting your data
When confidential information falls into the wrong hands, it can result in loss of business, property or reputation and may even involve civil or criminal liability.
Removing traces of information stored in storage units can be critical to the safety of your business. In addition, data protection and privacy laws and regulations require complete and auditable data erasure. To combine process efficiencies and security requirements associated with the increasing amount of data, your organization may need a centralized and professional solution for Data Disposal Management. A dedicated console is the only solution that allows an online and complete management of processes and data removal reports.
In recent months we have offered other similar guides with specific tools for hard drives , such as those that help you check your health , those that allow you to manage your partitions , and those that free space by eliminating unnecessary data. Therefore, this last guide is like the end of a saga that we have been offering you during this year.
Using Software’s
Hard drive wipe software, how to wipe a hard drive windows 7, how to wipe a hard drive windows 10, how to wipe a hard drive without a disk
1 Darik’s Boot And Nuke
Darik’s Boot And Nuke , also known as DBAN, is an open source program that has long been considered the best for data destruction software available. It is an open source project and totally free, which you can download in ISO format to dump it on a CD or DVD from any operating system and run it when starting the computer.
Therefore, all you have to do is to rip it and run it when you start the PC on which the hard disk you want to erase is connected. The interface is clear and basic , although its only thing against is that the amount of functions makes its instructions and documentation intimidate the beginners a little.
2 CBL Data Shredder, another cross-platform alternative
Hard drive wipe software, how to wipe a hard drive windows 7, how to wipe a hard drive windows 10, how to wipe a hard drive without a disk
If you are looking for an alternative with a slightly more modern interface, but with the ability to work directly from a CD or USB when starting the system, CBL Data Shredder is a freeware application that you may be interested in. In addition to its ISO version, it also has an executable for Windows.
If you want to completely delete the data of the hard disk that is using your operating system you will have no choice but to use a USB and load the program when starting the system. But its version for Windows is perfectly capable if all you want is to kill all the data of any other internal or external unit .
3 CCleaner, an old cleaning acquaintance
Hard drive wipe software, how to wipe a hard drive windows 7, how to wipe a hard drive windows 10, how to wipe a hard drive without a disk
The CCleaner application is well known among those looking to free up space by removing installed applications or browser data. But although a little less known, it also has an option that will allow you to safely delete the data from a HDD hard drive or a removable drive such as a USB.
What you have to do is run it, click on Tools and choose the Drive Wiper option . It will allow you to perform complex erasures of up to 35 passes . This means that the data will be overwritten with random binary code before each of the 35 formatting to minimize the possibility of recovering the original contents of the disk.
4 Eraser
Hard drive wipe software, how to wipe a hard drive windows 7, how to wipe a hard drive windows 10, how to wipe a hard drive without a disk
Although in this case it is an exclusive program for Microsoft operating systems, Eraser is another interesting option for all users of Windows XP onwards . It has some pretty eye-catching features, and is a free software tool published under the GNU General Public License 3.0 license.
The application stands out above all for including an option to schedule the schedules in which we want to perform the total deletions, being able to be daily at a specific time, weekly or monthly. Moreover, like almost all, it eliminates files, folders and the data of other programs previously eliminated. But of course, you will not be able to delete the hard disk on which Windows is installed.
5 KillDisk, with native application for GNU / Linux
Hard drive wipe software, how to wipe a hard drive windows 7, how to wipe a hard drive windows 10, how to wipe a hard drive without a disk
With the tools to create DVDs and USBs executable from the BIOS is usually enough to cover any need regardless of your operating system, but KillDisk at least is one of the few that also offers a native application for GNU / Linux distributions in format. Tar.gz.
As for its functions, it allows you to delete multiple disks at once, supports maximum sizes of 4 TB, forcing you to confirm the deletion to avoid errors and you have the option to remove only free space. It also allows you to create a removable drive executable from the BIOS. Its big point against is that some of these functions only work in their professional version.
6 HDDErase, very simple and multisystem
Hard drive wipe software, how to wipe a hard drive windows 7, how to wipe a hard drive windows 10, how to wipe a hard drive without a disk
HDDErase is another alternative to the previous options. Again thanks to its ease of use. Again it can only be used when booting from an external drive, but at least it has a simplified interface that makes it a bit easier to use.
Its only drawback, of course, is that it can not be run from the operating systems themselves. But in return it allows you to remove it ALL from any hard drive , which allows you to completely eliminate all traces of the operating system, and which has a minimum size so you can rip almost any drive.
7 Official Manufacturer Applications
And finally, we can not forget that hard disk manufacturers also offer interesting alternatives , programs specially designed to remove data from their models. We can find us here with alternatives like Intel Solid State Toolbox , Corsair SSD Toolbox , SanDisk SSD Toolbox , Samsung Magician Software or OCZ Toolbox
2 How to destroy a hard drive so that information can not be recovered
100% Effective Ways To Completely Erase a Hard Drive, How to erase my hard drive and start over, How to securely erase hard drives (HDDs) and solid state drives.
Although, in the domestic sphere, only the dust can destroy our hard drive, get rid of it permanently and can not recover information is not an easy task if we want to do well. We may try to erase the information from a hard drive , but at certain levels we can not ensure that the data you have stored can not be recovered.
If you plan to get rid of an old hard drive and recycle it, do not throw it directly even if you have formatted it. It is safest to destroy it physically , but it is not worth it anyway. Take note of the best ways to destroy a hard drive and its data so that it can not be recovered.
Erase a hard drive: the sure way to do it
The immediate way we usually associate with deleting information from a hard drive is to delete the files or format that drive . When we do this, what we actually do is tell the operating system that there is free space to fill in, but it is likely that information will never be overwritten and easy to retrieve.
To permanently delete information from a hard disk with a formatting, it must be multiple. Several formatting must be performed in a row to effectively override the information we want to delete.
The least we should format a not too old hard drive is twice, but now the secure formatting is associated with seven steps . That is the standard used by the US Department of Defense as a safe method to erase magnetic content.
But to be sure that a hard drive has been permanently erased and we can rest assured that our information will never be recovered, we must go through physical methods.
Definitely Destroy a Hard Drive: The Most Effective Methods
What techniques can I use to make sure that the hard drive I want to destroy is really useless ? Depending on the information it contains and the level of security you are looking for, you can turn to more home-based techniques or the more secure systems you use at agencies like the NSA.
If you have thought about submerging the hard disk that you want to leave useless in water, for what is an electronic component and we already know the consequences that has to wet them, forget it.
It is true that wetting a hard drive is going to leave the electronics part unusable and we may lose some information for residues that may be left on the hard drive’s plates, but recovering the information from that hard drive is relatively simple for a specialized company Which will transplant the part that includes the information using a new electronic part (donor) with which to return to life our hard drive.
More luck we can run if it is an SSD or flash drive . In some of those cases, wetting the electronics itself may make it impossible to reread the stored data.
If instead of water we opted for fire, the end of the information of the hard disk is not so flattering. An intense and durable fire will end up leaving the plates sufficiently illegible even for specialized companies.
Magnets can be valuable, but they are very powerful
A classic of the techniques to erase information from a classic hard drive, is to use a magnet . When dealing with magnetic storage, a magnet could make it difficult to read information and even make it disappear. To achieve this it is better to open the hard disk and leave the dishes in the air and then rub with the magnet .
But it is not 100% sure that we have eliminated the possibility of retrieving that information.
Physical destruction: from here there is no turning back
So that a hard disk is really useless and our data disappear forever, physical destruction is the only thing that can be assured if we do it correctly. A good way to start is to put it into operation, for example with an external housing, and hit it. The physical damage to the dishes will be more important than if we did with the hard disk turned off. But we have to make sure even more.
Once the electronic part of the physics is separated, the idea is to destroy the plates as much as possible . Depending on the material of which they are built (glass, ceramics, metal …), some methods will be more successful than others. We can from scratching them to beating them with a hammer or even proceed to its drilling with a drill.
If scratched or tapped, the domestic level will be inaccessible. But although the hard disk does not turn or has a good area definitely inaccessible, at a professional level it is possible to recover much of the information , yes, at a high price that only makes it viable in case of judicial or business cases at the highest level .
To make sure that the disc is actually invalidated for the retrieval of any information, it is best to hit it until it is shattered, with a previous drill and even have significantly damaged the surface of the plates previously with acid or sanding. This combination of drilling and sanding is definitive .
The physical destruction of a disk that stores information that we do not want to be recovered is much easier with flash memory or SSD drives. In those cases the blows would destroy the memory cells and there would be no possibility of recovery.
3 How to permanently delete data from hard disk
100% Effective Ways To Completely Erase a Hard Drive, How to erase my hard drive and start over, How to securely erase hard drives (HDDs) and solid state drives
When we are going to get rid of the PC, whether we sell it or give it away, it is important to erase all data. This is useful for a private individual, but it is really critical for banks and companies.
So make sure you have erased the data on the hard drives to prevent confidential data from being recovered by others.
Unfortunately, formatting of the disks is not enough.
Indeed, although it is true that the formatting resets the disk, it does not return it completely to zero. Then, we format it (we fill it with zeros)
On the hard drive there will be pure zeros.
But we see that where previously there were 1, the 0 still have a residual magnetism. This magnetism can be read with specialized equipment (there are companies specialized in this type of data recovery)
From this it can be deduced that the data 0101 was previously in spite of the formatting.
And this is nothing!
Even data can be retrieved, even when written above. For example, on the disk of the preceding case, if we write 0011:
The two 1 do not have the same magnetism: one is stronger than the other. So we can deduce what was before. Same for the two zeros.
Result: We can deduce the previous magnetism (0101) even though we have written zeros (0000) and then other data (0011)!
It is therefore possible in certain cases to recover old data from a hard disk, despite having formatted it and having written new data on it . (But this can only be done with special equipment).
Hence it is important that we find effective methods to completely erase the hard drive .
As information, the US Navy melds its hard drives to ensure that no one can retrieve the data contained in it.
Others use devices that generate a powerful magnetic field but at the same time destroy the hard disk.
We all do not have these means, but fortunately there are programs that do what is necessary.
How?
There are different methods and standards (DoD, etc.) for erasing hard drives.
But given the wide variety of methods of encoding information on magnetic media, the only method that guarantees privacy is to repeatedly overwrite the hard drive with random data
This seems easy, but generating really random data with a computer is not easy (since the computer is by its nature deterministic).
Using a bad random number generator, you can guess the following values by examining past sequences. Which means that using a bad random number generator (PRNG) would allow us to recover all our data.
One of the best random number generators is Mersenne-Twister, with a warranty period of 2 ^ 19937-1.
The program Darik’s Boot and Nuke allows to use Mersenne-Twister to erase the hard disks.
This is a Linux mini-distribution that fits on a floppy disk (or a CD).
Just boot the PC from it and launch the deletion of the disk.
Darik’s Boot and Nuke supports XT, IDE, PATA, SATA and SCSI disks.
downloads
- For floppy disk / USB key: http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/dban/dban-1.0.7_i386.exe?download
- For bootable CD: http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/dban/dban-1.0.7_i386.iso?download
For the EXE file (for diskette / USB), run it, insert the diskette or USB memory, select the corresponding reader and click on the “Install” button. This will write on the floppy disk or the USB stick.
You should burn the ISO file with your usual burning program. If you do not have any, you can use BurnCDCC or BurnAtOnce .
Use
Boot the PC from the floppy disk, USB memory or CD.
On the screen, simply press ENTER:
Wait for the boot to finish. After a moment, the following screen will appear:
(When this screen appears, you can now remove the floppy / USB key / Cd)
Press the M key and select the “PRNG Stream” method (with the up / down arrows and ENTER).
Press R, enter value 8 (= number of passes) and press ENTER.
Then select the hard disk by pressing ESPACE:
Now press F10 to start erasing data and wait for the operation to complete.
IMPORTANT: The entire hard drive will be erased (files, partitions … everything!) . Data recovery will be impossible.
After the last random data pass, the disk is erased with zeros.
4 How to permanently delete data from hard disk
100% Effective Ways To Completely Erase a Hard Drive, How to erase my hard drive and start over, How to securely erase hard drives (HDDs) and solid state drives
When we get rid of a computer, especially if we sell it or give it to someone, it is very important that we remove all trace of our presence on the hard drive . This is a basic privacy measure, otherwise the person receiving the computer could recover our data and misuse it.
Although most people are clear that a simple deletion is not enough, many believe that formatting the disk will prevent data recovery. And this is not so, there are several tools that allow you to recover files from a formatted disk with excellent results. So we need something that goes beyond just formatting. The ideal is to overwrite the contents of the entire hard disk several times with a combination of pre-set values (all zeros, all ones, random values, …), so that it is impossible to recover the original information. Let’s take a look at some tools that will allow us to do this.
Secure Data Disposal
Lenovo has launched a tool for users of their laptops, called Secure Data Disposal that can be downloaded from their website and, once executed, will create a boot disks from which we can start the computer and remove all information of the disk.
Link | Secure Data Disposal .
Eraser
A much more general tool than Secure Data Disposal is Eraser , which besides the overwriting of complete disks also allows the removal of specific files from the disk, without affecting the rest of the files that we have stored.
It integrates into the Windows context menu to do it in a simple way, and can be scheduled to take actions periodically.
Link | Eraser .
DBAN
Another application that allows us to boot from floppy disks, but also from CD or from USB disks. It is open source and supports various erasure methods, many of them certified by the United States Army.
It allows its use with IDE, PATA, SATA and SCSI disk and with filesystems FAT, VFAT, NTFS, ReiserFS, EXT and UFS.
Link | DBAN .
So there is no excuse to make our data available to anyone, since although most methods are rather slow, especially with the enormous capacity that today have hard drives, the process is very simple.
5 Clean hard drive
How to securely erase your hard drive when disposing of your computer, Leave No Trace How to Completely Erase Your Hard Drives
The hard drive is one of the most commonly used components. Not only are installed data and programs stored there. Windows also uses the hard drive as memory (virtual memory). It can be said that the hard disk has an important role in the operation of the computer. But in case you have problems with the computer, cleaning the hard drive is not as important as cleaning the Windows registry .
The hard disk gets dirty quickly because we only add stuff and never clean things we do not use. He thinks that a disk with a lot of data is slower than a disk with little data. Another problem related to the hard disk is data fragmentation . The small pieces of data scattered over the surface of the hard disk. With disk fragmentation, overall system performance decreases. When a file is fragmented, when it is opened, the computer should search for all the fragments on the hard disk in order to rebuild it. The response time can be considerably higher. The two problems are easy to solve . On how to clean hard drive we explained how you can remove obsolete data from disk, With the help of a tool. On how to defragment the hard disk you can find the instructions to defragment the hard disk.
How to clean the hard drive
There are two ways to clean the hard drive, using some tools offered by Microsoft or use a program that specializes in cleaning and maintaining the computer. With Pc Health Advisor for example, you can clean and defrag the hard drive with just one click . And it repairs, updates and accelerates the computer.
In Windows there is a small application that helps you clean the hard drive. The program is called: ” Disk Cleanup “. This program helps to erase data from the hard disk that you do not use, without fear of losing important data.
What kind of hard disk data does this tool erase?
- Remove the temporary files from Internet .
- Remove files from downloaded programs . (These are temporary programs)
- Empty the Recycle Bin.
- Remove temporary files from Windows .
Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup to start the application.
Now the next screen will be displayed:
The tool is now analyzing your computer and collecting data from the hard disk that you can erase.
This process may take several minutes, then wait until the tool shows:
All files are temporary files, in principle you can delete everything (marking all the markers).
But by default Windows will only mark you some items that you can delete. This is so, because for example in the Recycle Bin there may be files that you still want to recover (when you have deleted, for example, something by accident).
When you have marked items you want to delete, click the ” OK ” button . The tool will ask you ” Are you sure you want to do these actions? “, Click” Yes . ”
Now the cleaning process starts and in a few minutes, you have the temporary data removed from the hard disk.
Defragment your hard drive
To recover speed , improve PC resources and increase pc performance, we need to know how to defragment the hard drive . I mean, we must recover all the fragments located in different places, unite all those bits of information that belong to the same file (video, mp3, games) and that were scattered.
The solution to this problem is the operating system itself: Disk Defragmenter is responsible for locating the various fragments of the same file and reconnecting them. Put them in sectors one after another, to improve data processing speed, speed of the system and optimize performance.
Is it the same format the disk to defragment?
Formatting the hard drive is not the same. Formatting is to delete all the items on the hard disk. Defragment, is to join the fragments that belong to the same file.
How to Defragment Your Hard Drive
To know how to defragment the hard drive and increase pc performance, you have to follow these simple steps:
- Click on the start button on the taskbar.
- We select Programs .
- We select Accessories .
- We select System Tools .
- We selected Disk Defragmenter .
- You select ” defragment now ” and you can defragment the disk.
It can take quite some time, you have to wait until the program notifies you that the task is ready.
6 Clean the Mac
How to securely erase your hard drive when disposing of your computer, Leave No Trace How to Completely Erase Your Hard Drives
Many people have the idea that the Mac is a magic system and in contrast to its big Windows competitor, you never have to keep the system. But that’s a big mistake, Apple’s operating system, it also needs maintenance from time to time. If you do not often clean the system, you will have a very common problem: a slow Mac .
This article explains how to clean Mac in five steps. I understand that these steps are not for every user of a Mac just as easy, because for many people, it will be an impossible task.
If you have problems understanding the steps, or do not dare to follow them for fear of damaging the Mac, I recommend using a program to clean the Mac : MacKeeper .
Step 1 to clean your Mac: erase old backups
Many programs offer an automatic system to create backups or leave temporary files behind. A good example of a program that leaves temporary files is IChat. This program leaves log files behind when you use it. Other programs, such as BBEdit , automatically create a backup. Every week a new copy, is it necessary ?, How many backups must be saved to the hard drive? You have to understand that every copy, takes up space on the hard drive and is totally unnecessary, so you can control the “My Documents” folder and delete all the old backups.
Step 2: Delete IChat logs
IChat is a very popular program on Mac . Depending on the configuration of this chat program, IChat generates loggings. To control how IChat is set up, you have to go to IChat -> Preferences, click Messages and select Save Chat Transcripts. By default, this program saves the logs in a folder called iChats, just a folder under the documents folder.
If you use the chat for a while, the number of logs increases and each time these files, they will occupy more space on the hard disk. Deleting these files from time to time, is one more step, to clean the Mac.
Step 3: Clean the system log disk
Mac Mountain Lion saves everything that happens with the file system logs. These files are recorded for example, if an error has occurred. A normal user never analyzes these files, but when you have some problem, you can consult for more information. To view this information, open a console (Applications / Utilities), this window shows all messages that have been saved for a long time. Many of these messages can be deleted, because they only provide information. And if you have a Mac for quite some time, there will be plenty of these messages accumulated. Many of these are old and saved in a file that has the extension .bz2 ., These files can be deleted if you do not want to consult these data more.
Step 4: Reset Safari
Apple’s most popular browser is Safari . Some of the Safari features take up space on your hard drive unnecessarily. There is, for example, a cache in this browser that can easily consume hundreds of megabytes. When the cache is so large, internet browsing is slowed down.
It is a good idea to reset Safari from time to time to empty the cache and clean the disk, as well as speed up browsing the internet. To do this, choose: Safari -> Reset Safari and check the options that interest you the most:
In this window you can choose what you want to delete and reset. You can see what you deleted in the image above. Although you can also choose, other options to get more space on the hard drive.
Another advice related to Safari is to control the folder where the downloads are stored ( carpetaddress / Downloads ). There you can find some files that can be deleted.
Step 5 to clean your Mac: Erase mail downloads
If you receive email in the Apple Mail program , the attachments are saved in the message. But the moment you open the attachment with QuickLook, a copy of this attachment is saved in the “folder / Library / Mail” folder. In this folder can accumulate many files. Normally you can delete the contents of this folder without problems, because you have the original in the mail. If you no longer have the original email and want to save this file, better copy this file to another folder.
7 How to Use dban to erase hard drive
How to securely erase your hard drive, How to Wipe a Hard Drive , Permanently Erase Everything?
Cleaning a hard drive means completely erasing all the information contained on this disk . If we do a format of the hard disk, we will not erase all the information completely. To erase it we have to do one more step. If we format a hard disk, we will only delete the file system , the data will still be visible. With a file recovery program or special hardware, we can easily recover deleted information.
If you want to make sure that your private information has been completely erased, you will need to clean the hard drive using special software.
NOTE: At the bottom of this page we will give you a series of important tips for Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista programs.
Steps to completely remove the hard drive:
1 – First we have to make a backup of all the files that you do not want to erase. Once we have cleaned the hard drive completely, we will not be able to recover any information.
NOTE: On some systems, there are multiple drives on a single hard drive . We can see how many drives we have on the hard drive, by going to the boot menu, to My pc, and to hard drives.
2 – Then we will download from the internet, a free program for data deletion . We recommend DBAN because it is easy to use.
If you find another program better than the one we recommend do not hesitate to use it.
NOTE: There are different ways to remove information from a hard drive, but using software for data destruction is the easiest and allows us to use the hard drive again.
8 How to Clean a Hard Drive
How to securely erase your hard drive, How to Wipe a Hard Drive , Permanently Erase Everything?
Cleaning a hard drive means completely erasing all the information contained on this disk . If we do a format of the hard disk, we will not erase all the information completely. To erase it we have to do one more step.
If we format a hard disk, we will only delete the file system , the data will still be visible. With a file recovery program or special hardware, we can easily recover deleted information.
If you want to make sure that your private information has been completely erased, you will need to clean the hard drive using special software.
NOTE: At the bottom of this page we will give you a series of important tips for Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista programs.
Steps to completely remove the hard drive:
1 – First we have to make a backup of all the files that you do not want to erase. Once we have cleaned the hard drive completely, we will not be able to recover any information.
NOTE: On some systems, there are multiple drives on a single hard drive . We can see how many drives we have on the hard drive, by going to the boot menu, to My pc, and to hard drives.
2 – Then we will download from the internet, a free program for data deletion . We recommend DBAN because it is easy to use.
If you find another program better than the one we recommend do not hesitate to use it.
NOTE: There are different ways to remove information from a hard drive, but using software for data destruction is the easiest and allows us to use the hard drive again.
3 – Clean the hard drive according to the instructions of the program that has been downloaded.
NOTE: The program we installed to clean the hard drive, uses different methods to clean it. If you want to find out the effectiveness of the program or the methods that you use to clean the hard disk, see Methods of data disinfection.
4 – After cleaning the hard drive correctly, you can be sure that all information has been erased.
5 – Next we will install Windows in the unit.
Tips and recommendations:
-The same is the operating system you have on your computer. To erase the hard drive we will follow the same steps every time, whether you have Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Linux or any other operating system of the PC.
With the advent of the Windows Vista operating system, the formatting process was streamlined allowing you to format and clean a hard disk but using a format (not fast). This supposes a very basic cleaning that prevents the access to the deleted information by the normal user, but that allows the expert user to be able to access and recover the deleted data, since in fact, this cleaning did not clean anything, just made a sweep Very general.
-If this basic formatting is enough for you, you can follow the explanatory instructions of Windows Vista itself, Windows 7 or Windows 8 and follow the steps and the instructions one by one.
Keep in mind that while formatting a hard drive, what you actually format is a partition, not the hard drive completely. Windows itself needs to continue to exist inside the hard drive for formatting, so if you want to format the entire hard drive, you must exit Windows, delete the partition and format the entire disk.
9 How to clean and empty your computer’s hard drive
How to securely erase your hard drive, How to Wipe a Hard Drive , Permanently Erase Everything?
Completely erasing a hard drive is not as easy as it sounds. Deleting the files or even formatting the hard disk does not prevent other people from recovering the data. This includes passwords, account credentials, family photos and videos, or application license numbers, among others. With the right tools , you can restore all the information contained, even after formatting the disk and writing new data. The most drastic solution is to physically destroy the hard drive, punching the plates where the data is stored or fusing it, something that is not available to everyone. Thus, the computer is ready for recycling .
However, many people intend to give a second life to the team , giving it away or selling it . They want the hard drive of the laptop or desktop, or an external hard drive, to be in good use. A storage drive may appear to be empty, but in reality only the indexes to locate the files have disappeared , but not the data itself. The data remain intact in the sectors occupied, within the reach of anyone with a minimum computer knowledge. The operation will require more or less time, but will end up being possible.
The only valid method for ensuring privacy , without destroying the drive, is to use specific permanent erase applications , which use various systems to repeatedly overwrite random data on the hard disk. It is a process that can take several hours to complete, depending on the system chosen. The faster, the less secure. In most cases they usually work with eight random writing passes , although the more advanced ones using the Gutmann Wipe method require 35 passes.
Here are some of the most effective permanent hard drive erasing programs , along with links to their official web pages.
Eraser
It’s freeware (free). For Microsoft operating systems from Windows XP to Windows 7. Erase files and folders. It allows to program automatic deletions from its own interface of any folder, something that can be useful for the recycle bin.
DBAN
It’s free. Supports SATA, IDE, SCSI, PATA and XT disks. It is suitable for advanced users because the tool is not installed on the hard disk. Instead, you need to know how to download a disk image and how to mount it on a CD or DVD. DBAN works outside the operating system to randomly overwrite data several times. Completely erasing a 1 TB (terabyte) storage drive may take about 48 hours if more than ten passes are selected. It offers a mode called Autonuke, which automatically overwrites all connected disks. Of course, DBAN can not work with external hard drives, or other removable drives.
Disk Doctor Data Sanitizer
There is a free trial version and another $ 39 payment. For Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 and 2008. It offers up to nine erase methods to choose from.
Free for Mac OS X 10.5 or later. It offers a variety of methods from the safe emptying of trash (7 passes) to permanent erasing, which truncates the file size and encodes the original name.