How to Completely Erase Sensitive Computer Data
Most computer users are unsure of what to do when getting rid of an old PC. What, they wonder, should I do with my machine before I give it to a friend or acquaintance? What, they may ask, should I do with it before I send it off to the local recycling plant? These individuals want to get rid of their unnecessary electronics; however, they do not want to worry about someone else accessing their personal, and potentially, sensitive computer documents.
Fortunately, the solution to this problem is relatively easy: all you need to do is securely wipe your hard drive before getting rid of it. So how does one “securely wipe” a computer’s hard drive, you may be asking?
If you have ever used the recycle bin within the Windows operating system then you have “wiped” some data from your computer. In other words, you have told your computer that this information will no longer be needed and, consequently, it should be erased from your machines memory. Unfortunately, while it appears that the data (computer files or folders) has been completely destroyed, this is not the case. Windows may forget about the deleted data; however, it still physically exists on your hard drive (the physical device that stores all of your folders and files). As a result, someone can potentially use a file recovery application to bring this data back from the dead.
A “secure wipe” is more rigorous than a “wipe”. First of all, rather than simply forgetting about data, a “secure wipe” actually erases data. Secondly, a “secure wipe” uses an algorithm which virtually guarantees that file recovery software will be unable to retrieve erased data.
There are a number of applications out there which allow you to securely wipe your PC; however, the two most popular free alternatives are DBAN (Darik’s Boot and Nuke) and Eraser (created by Heidi Computer Ltd.). We have a great deal of personal experience with DBAN and highly recommend it. In order to make use of it you simply burn it to a CD, boot it up, and then type in “autonuke”. DBAN takes it from there and completely formats your hard drive using a DoD-Compliant algorithm. Although we have not used Eraser, we have heard great things about it. It is a robust package which allows you to specify exactly what you want to securely delete (a file, a folder of files, or even a drive) as well as when you want this to be done. Once again, it makes use of a DoD-Compliant algorithm meaning it is extremely safe.
If you have any further questions about the use of these applications or hard drive formatting in general then feel free to come on over to Computer Repair Vancouver where we discuss a variety of computer repair related topics.
