Just found this little and nice utility when searching for a tool to
clean free space on my HD and wanted to share. It is called WipeDisk,
wights only 86k and works like a charm. It is freeware, of course.
Here is an excerpt from the help file:

"WipeDisk is a simple, single screen utility whose primary purpose is
to protect the confidentiality of information stored on your
computer's disk drives. It is especially useful if you are upgrading
the hard disk and you want to make sure that wherever your old disk
ends up, no-one has access to the information that was once stored on
it. I use this utility every time I upgrade my drive and sell the old
one. Formatting alone isn't good enough !

"It is not enough to simply erase the files on the hard disk. Even
formatting the disk is inadequate in many circumstances. Wipe the disk
! Even though a file is erased, the information contained in that file
remains present on the disk at least until the file is overwritten,
and perhaps longer. I know; I have recovered full and partial file
information many times using commonly available disk utilities. The
moral of the story is WipeDisk."

Available at http://www.birdcomputer.ca/Software/SoftwareToC.html
Direct d/l: http://www.birdcomputer.ca/Software/WipeDisk.zip

Regards

> Just found this little and nice utility

Eraser remains the best: http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/

>On Sun, 13 Mar 2005 02:42:41 GMT, JD <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Eraser remains the best: http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/

UltraShredder shreds files by overwriting them 199 times with random
characters, saving it to disk each time, and then bypasses the recycle
bin. If the file were to be recovered by a restoration program, they
would only be able to see unintelligible characters on disk where the
file used to be. The program is very small with a minute memory
footprint, and makes no changes to your system whatsoever.

http://www.xtort.net/xtort/ultra.php

On Sun, 13 Mar 2005 03:03:25 GMT, Mel <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>>On Sun, 13 Mar 2005 02:42:41 GMT, JD <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>Eraser remains the best: http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/
>
>UltraShredder shreds files by overwriting them 199 times with random
>characters, saving it to disk each time, and then bypasses the recycle
>bin. If the file were to be recovered by a restoration program, they
>would only be able to see unintelligible characters on disk where the
>file used to be. The program is very small with a minute memory
>footprint, and makes no changes to your system whatsoever.
>
>http://www.xtort.net/xtort/ultra.php

I use Ultra Wipe by Red Strike. Any opinions on wheather that really
works?

"Dave B" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Sun, 13 Mar 2005 03:03:25 GMT, Mel <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>>On Sun, 13 Mar 2005 02:42:41 GMT, JD <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>>>Eraser remains the best: http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/
>>
>>UltraShredder shreds files by overwriting them 199 times with random
>>characters, saving it to disk each time, and then bypasses the recycle
>>bin. If the file were to be recovered by a restoration program, they
>>would only be able to see unintelligible characters on disk where the
>>file used to be. The program is very small with a minute memory
>>footprint, and makes no changes to your system whatsoever.
>>
>>http://www.xtort.net/xtort/ultra.php
>
> I use Ultra Wipe by Red Strike. Any opinions on wheather that really
> works?

Hello,

The only way to test if file erasers actually work is to run "EnCase" which
is also a small program. It will allow you to preview the hard drive and
look through every section of it to see whether files have been found. It
will show deleted pictures too!

I found that if you want to delete something, it's best to use the Windows
recycle bin, then run Evidence Eliminator to wipe all the unallocated
clusters. If you just delete a file, even using secure delete - the name of
the file stays but the contents are not visible. That could be enough for
evidence purposes to show a file once existed with a certain name etc. Even
changing a file name before using a secure delete can be a risk - sometimes
it will show on a timeline when the name was changed and what from !

It's a fascinating subject really. Most secure delete programs are a waste
of space. Most people find that when they use forensic examination
software.

Try the programs out - put some pictures in a directory, use various
software to delete them - then inspect the hard drive. You might fall off
your chair!

As for something overwriting 199 times or whatever it was, that would take a
long time. My Evidence Eliminator goes over each item 3 times and for a
small file it can take a few minutes. To wipe the unallocated clusters and
overwrite 3 times can take a whole day just for 40GB of space.
Manufacturers claims shouldn't be believed.

On Sun, 13 Mar 2005 07:00:26 GMT, "Fred" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>
>"Dave B" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> On Sun, 13 Mar 2005 03:03:25 GMT, Mel <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>>>>On Sun, 13 Mar 2005 02:42:41 GMT, JD <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Eraser remains the best: http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/
>>>
>>>UltraShredder shreds files by overwriting them 199 times with random
>>>characters, saving it to disk each time, and then bypasses the recycle
>>>bin. If the file were to be recovered by a restoration program, they
>>>would only be able to see unintelligible characters on disk where the
>>>file used to be. The program is very small with a minute memory
>>>footprint, and makes no changes to your system whatsoever.
>>>
>>>http://www.xtort.net/xtort/ultra.php
>>
>> I use Ultra Wipe by Red Strike. Any opinions on wheather that really
>> works?
>
>Hello,
>
>The only way to test if file erasers actually work is to run "EnCase" which
>is also a small program. It will allow you to preview the hard drive and
>look through every section of it to see whether files have been found. It
>will show deleted pictures too!
>
>I found that if you want to delete something, it's best to use the Windows
>recycle bin, then run Evidence Eliminator to wipe all the unallocated
>clusters. If you just delete a file, even using secure delete - the name of
>the file stays but the contents are not visible. That could be enough for
>evidence purposes to show a file once existed with a certain name etc. Even
>changing a file name before using a secure delete can be a risk - sometimes
>it will show on a timeline when the name was changed and what from !
>
>It's a fascinating subject really. Most secure delete programs are a waste
>of space. Most people find that when they use forensic examination
>software.
>
>Try the programs out - put some pictures in a directory, use various
>software to delete them - then inspect the hard drive. You might fall off
>your chair!
>
>As for something overwriting 199 times or whatever it was, that would take a
>long time. My Evidence Eliminator goes over each item 3 times and for a
>small file it can take a few minutes. To wipe the unallocated clusters and
>overwrite 3 times can take a whole day just for 40GB of space.
>Manufacturers claims shouldn't be believed.
>

I'm a newbie to wiping files. Can any of you answer what may appear
to be a dumb question on my part.

If I wipe a drive's free space with one over-write seven times, is
that the same as wiping it once with 7 over-writes?

Thanks

On Sun, 13 Mar 2005 02:57:21 +0100, Kuko <ups> wrote:

>
> Just found this little and nice utility when searching for a tool to
>clean free space on my HD and wanted to share. It is called WipeDisk,
>wights only 86k and works like a charm. It is freeware, of course.
>Here is an excerpt from the help file:
>
>"WipeDisk is a simple, single screen utility whose primary purpose is
>to protect the confidentiality of information stored on your
>computer's disk drives. It is especially useful if you are upgrading
>the hard disk and you want to make sure that wherever your old disk
>ends up, no-one has access to the information that was once stored on
>it. I use this utility every time I upgrade my drive and sell the old
>one. Formatting alone isn't good enough !
>
> "It is not enough to simply erase the files on the hard disk. Even
>formatting the disk is inadequate in many circumstances. Wipe the disk
>! Even though a file is erased, the information contained in that file
>remains present on the disk at least until the file is overwritten,
>and perhaps longer. I know; I have recovered full and partial file
>information many times using commonly available disk utilities. The
>moral of the story is WipeDisk."
>
> Available at http://www.birdcomputer.ca/Software/SoftwareToC.html
> Direct d/l: http://www.birdcomputer.ca/Software/WipeDisk.zip
>
> Regards


Just remember to stay away from evidence eliminator. It's total garbage.
For more info, read here:

http://evidence-eliminator-sucks.com/


ozzy

Kuko <ups> wrote in news:(E-Mail Removed):

>
> Just found this little and nice utility when searching for a tool to
> clean free space on my HD and wanted to share. It is called WipeDisk,
> wights only 86k and works like a charm. It is freeware, of course.
> Here is an excerpt from the help file:
>
> "WipeDisk is a simple, single screen utility whose primary purpose is
> to protect the confidentiality of information stored on your
> computer's disk drives. It is especially useful if you are upgrading
> the hard disk and you want to make sure that wherever your old disk
> ends up, no-one has access to the information that was once stored on
> it. I use this utility every time I upgrade my drive and sell the old
> one. Formatting alone isn't good enough !
>
> "It is not enough to simply erase the files on the hard disk. Even
> formatting the disk is inadequate in many circumstances. Wipe the disk
> ! Even though a file is erased, the information contained in that file
> remains present on the disk at least until the file is overwritten,
> and perhaps longer. I know; I have recovered full and partial file
> information many times using commonly available disk utilities. The
> moral of the story is WipeDisk."
>
> Available at http://www.birdcomputer.ca/Software/SoftwareToC.html
> Direct d/l: http://www.birdcomputer.ca/Software/WipeDisk.zip
>
> Regards
>

To verify if it has done the job properly, run Restoration, Handy
Recovery, PC Inspector File Recovery, or Drive Rescueand see if any of
them detects any files. Chances are they will.


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No Christ, No Peace

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Home Page - www.mistergeek.com
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