Permanently delete a file on the hard drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter Alex Martinez
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A

Alex Martinez

Hello,

I am worndering if there is a good software program that will permanently
erase files or folders. I know if I deleted a file or folder it doesn't
completly gets deleted in the hard drive. I know the data can be recovered,
which I don't want. So if anybody knows a good program that will complete
erase/destory/remove I would appreciate the suggestion. Thank you.
 
As most companies do whose HDDs contain critical material - an electric
drill straight through the disk drive.
 
A reciprocating saw works better - and, you get to see a cross sectional
view of the drive when you are done (-:

--

Regards:

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard :-)
 
I am worndering if there is a good software program that will permanently
erase files or folders. I know if I deleted a file or folder it doesn't
completly gets deleted in the hard drive. I know the data can be recovered,
which I don't want. So if anybody knows a good program that will complete
erase/destory/remove I would appreciate the suggestion. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Take your pick.

http://www.handyarchive.com/free/shredding/

Ciao,
Falcon
--
 
Depends how aesthetitic you are, Crusty; [sorry, 'Crusty' & your first name
abbreviated - I refuse to link as one nick, Dick], either way, if there's
data on there which is critical enough to warrant complete cleaning, a new
drive in the long run costs peanuts in relataion to the consequences of
someone lifting' security files - & the the potential repercussions
therefrom (a while since I've typed that last bit :-) )
 
The best program that I have found is easttec eraser
http://www.east-tec.com/

It will erase the deleted files on your computer but leave the existing
files on the computer which is what you want. With all the options they
offer if you do multiple wipes wit different patterns you can be assured the
data cannot be recovered most recovery can work after 3-5 wipes.
8 wipes is pretty much impossible to recover from especially if you vary the
pattern. It does takes hours to run though since it has to write to every
sector of the drive that is blank. After it is done I defrag the drive as a
final measure.

The best part is they offer a free 14 day trial so you can use it to ease
stuff from your computer for free

Once you have wiped the disk try running r studio to see if it can recover
anything the demo only does files smaller than 64k so create some small text
files before you delete them then wipe as a test

http://www.r-studio.com/

or try active undelete
http://www.active-undelete.com/

never trust any program that says it deletes data.

If you have some time you can even try one wipe and see if the data can be
recovered easily or not. Remember though there are many ways to recover
data and that is why they say 8x wipes with a varying pattern will thwart
any hardware attempt. Drilling a hole in a drive will not render the data
unreadable but will stop the drive from working nor will cutting the drive
in half. If you remove the platters from the drive you will need to sand,
grind or plane the surface of the disks to make them unreadable. Where I
work we disassemble all our drives and the platters are sent out for
destruction. I am not sure what method they use. I had heard it was an
acid bath but it might have changed due to pollution laws
 
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