hard disk overwriting/formatting software ?

albalad

now that i've got my new pc up and running (9200) i'm wanting to give my old one away-but obviously not wirth all my data, usernames and other personal info on it.
I'm aware that a normal format wil not remove all of this info, that i need some "overwriting" software which overwrites your hard disk 6 or 7 times . can anyone personally recommend any particular software to use - preferablly free.
Also if anyone could provide me with an idiots guide on how to do this , does it leave the os intact or would i need to reinstal the os after wiping my data.

I remember some months ago this being discussed and a particular software being recommended, but can't for the life of me remember what the software was called .

Thanks

albertross_2

These wipe the lot, including your operating system.

Create a boot floppy or boot CD to use.


http://www.cbltech.ca/data-shredder.html
http://dban.sourceforge.net/

Both Free

cowboy

I'm currrently using Eraser to erase my external HDD by overwriting it 37 times before I pass it to my buyer.

Read about it here: http://www.lifehacker.com/software/downloads/download-of-the-day-eraser-125289.php

I think the 37times overwriting is the most secure method...it's called Gutmann method or something.

Oh ya, remember to start erasing early if you have a big drive...I need to run mine for 4 days at least....for a 250GB drive.

albalad

thanks for the replies guys - will try one or other of them later this week.

have been unable to thank you , as the "thanks" button is not registering at the moment

????? maybe it's related to the keyboard problems that i'm having ?????

chuckles1066

albalad wrote:

thanks for the replies guys - will try one or other of them later this week.

have been unable to thank you , as the "thanks" button is not registering at the moment

????? maybe it's related to the keyboard problems that i'm having ?????

neither of the suggestions is as secure as

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/copywipe.html

because CopyWipe runs from floppy and doesnt allow the process to get as far as OS involvement (which, if you're using Windows, means protected files, read-only files etc etc).

I used this to wipe a hard drive and asked my sister-in-law (who works for the Police and specializes in recovering data from hard drives for prosecutions in child !!!!!! cases and the like) to see if she could recover any data.

She said nope, nothing was on it that could be interpreted as recognisable data.

Good enough for me :beer:

And it's free, even better!! :beer: :beer:

albertross_2

chuckles1066 wrote:

neither of the suggestions is as secure as

Really? Suggest you check the links out before you remark upon them..

Both my links run from floppy or CD, and CBL tech is a data recovery specialist, and they use the program mentioned to eradicate any possibility of data recovery from disks after they have finished recovering peoples data from them. All hard disk wiping problems use the same principles.

cowboy

chuckles1066 wrote:

neither of the suggestions is as secure as

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/copywipe.html

because CopyWipe runs from floppy and doesnt allow the process to get as far as OS involvement (which, if you're using Windows, means protected files, read-only files etc etc).

I used this to wipe a hard drive and asked my sister-in-law (who works for the Police and specializes in recovering data from hard drives for prosecutions in child !!!!!! cases and the like) to see if she could recover any data.

She said nope, nothing was on it that could be interpreted as recognisable data.

Good enough for me :beer:

And it's free, even better!! :beer: :beer:

I think it's rather inappropriate to say that the other methods suggested were not as secure as the one you've just suggested.

I took a look at the website you suggested and also downloaded the manual; there's not much explanation on the overwriting method - only 1 paragraph about random overwriting (max 8 pass) is mentioned.

If you look at Eraser, their help guide mentioned about each of the overwriting methods that you can use and the supporting evidence (like the paper published by Gutmann, a computer scientist who proposed the 35-pass overwriting as the most secure method).

Then again, it was mentioned that the "most secure" method is to destroy the drive physically. These overwriting method just make it more difficult for data recovery. Maybe up to near impossible but still not 100% impossible. But actually, for normal users like us, I think 8 pass method should be enough.

chuckles1066

cowboy wrote:

I think it's rather inappropriate to say that the other methods suggested were not as secure as the one you've just suggested.

I took a look at the website you suggested and also downloaded the manual; there's not much explanation on the overwriting method - only 1 paragraph about random overwriting (max 8 pass) is mentioned.

If you look at Eraser, their help guide mentioned about each of the overwriting methods that you can use and the supporting evidence (like the paper published by Gutmann, a computer scientist who proposed the 35-pass overwriting as the most secure method).

Then again, it was mentioned that the "most secure" method is to destroy the drive physically. These overwriting method just make it more difficult for data recovery. Maybe up to near impossible but still not 100% impossible. But actually, for normal users like us, I think 8 pass method should be enough.

If you've been stupid and downloaded kiddie-!!!!!! then, for sure, put your drive in the middle of a bonfire and hope the drive gets destroyed.

For most of us normals, the likes of CopyWipe will do what you want.

For free.

cowboy

chuckles1066 wrote:

If you've been stupid and downloaded kiddie-!!!!!! then, for sure, put your drive in the middle of a bonfire and hope the drive gets destroyed.

For most of us normals, the likes of CopyWipe will do what you want.

For free.

Go ahead and be happy with that 8-pass overwriting then. I'm just trying to point out that it isn't the most secure way like what you've proclaimed (like I said, the only most secure way is to destroy the drive physically). If you aren't sure about something, don't mislead others.

I feel more secure with Eraser's 35-pass overwriting and a published proof supporting the method, not go for some random overwriting with CopyWipe. And for your info, Eraser is also a freeware.