How to securely wipe your computer hard drive
How to securely wipe your computer hard drive

How to securely wipe your computer hard drive

Why does this site keep mentioning a windows install disk? Two computers are macs, so I know nothing about them. If you left MSPaint, that would mean that you didn’t remove Windows. You may have gotten most of it wiped, but as the article states, there are a few places which you might have missed where residual data might have remained, for example the swap files and some files in App Data etc. Again, to be safe, just wipe the empty space, but unless you’re giving it to the NSA, or you had secure secure financial stuff, this should suffice.

We just did this to one machine, and it is activated , and it has kept the windows 10 activation. Had a prior windows 7 machine, had upgraded to windows 10, used it for a while, then decided to retire it and donate it. I had inquired to several sites, about the windows 10 clean install. This article is scary and should be required reading. Alternatively, if I were selling my machine, there is no question I would have nuked it, as I did with a previous-previous job’s laptop as well. I have no qualms about doing that at all to satisfactorily cover all traces. If a problem occurs, you can boot to Safemode, remove the “X” and then dig deeper to learn what this mystery folder is used for.

While hybrid drives improve upon HDD and SSD limitations, they can present a problem for secure data destruction. Each crucial piece of information regarding the degaussing/sanitization procedure is recorded by the SDD Master’s special Data Destruction Auditor. Reports that include key facts such media serial numbers, degauss force, the date and time of erasure, and operator information can be prepared and utilized as degaussing proof. A thorough sanitization/erasure audit trail is provided by Data Destruction Auditor. Adegausserof the appropriate strength will eliminate all of the magnetic fields thereby eliminating all data. After that, companies should consider using a product that effectively crushes the device, or have some fun and do it on their own. Any method that will render it into tiny pieces is ideal.

What happens if you need to crack encrypted files that you can no longer get access to? In June, the New York Times reported that the U.S. had cracked into Russia’s electrical power grid and planted malware there. Nakasone wouldn’t confirm the Times story, but it isn’t hard to see how planting malware in anticipation of needing it later would fit into the Russia Small Group’s operations if it is modeled on ARES. In other words, you don’t wait to be attacked in cyberspace. You do things that would allow you to hack back if there is an attack in the future. Nakasone made clear things had changed when he talked to NPR a few months ago at the NSA campus at Fort Meade.

Break the Hard Drive Physically

Even if you have a powerful degausser, if you want to give the drive away or have it usable afterwards, don’t use a magnet. The manufacturer stores important data on the disk for the drive itself to function. DBAN is just as secure and you get to reuse the hard drive. If you want your data inaccessible by the new owner you’ll have to remove the disk and install a brand-new one. For the old one, if you want to safely dispose of it, you’ll need to go the hammer way. That is to physically and thoroughly destroy the disk. And no, just because when you connect it to your computer the computer can’t read it does not mean that no-one else can’t read it either.

Preventing Data Breaches In Your Business

Hard drives use magnetic fields to store data on discs called platters. Hackers don’t need ransomware to steal client information, all they need is an employee to leave a hard disk drive in the open. Use high-end degaussers to wipe servers and similar systems with resilient hard disks.

How Does The U.S. Navy Handle Data Destruction In Hampton Roads, VA?

Read more about Nsa approved degausser here.