deleting hard drive info before selling a computer
kc.c...@gmail.com
I want to make sure all personal information (banking information,
passwords, work related documents) has been deleted and can't be
retrieved. Is there a software program that can accomplish this or
would it be best to replace the hard drive? Thanks for any help.
Andrew
: I have a laptop computer that I will be selling soon. Before doing so,
You want to WIPE (not just format) your hard drive. WIPING it will
make it very difficult for anyone but experts with expensive equipment
to obtain your information - say the NSA. In other words, you have
nothing to worry about.
To wipe your drive (which will erase EVERYTHING on it, including
Windows), you should get a wiping utility. I recommend using one of
the ones on the Ultimate Boot CD (Google for it). This is a set of
utilities on a CD that you can boot. You can download the ISO image
of the UBCD, burn that to a blank CD, and boot it. Select the
utility (I think the one I've used was AutoEnclave). I'm not sure if
UBCD for Windows will work as well but you can try that one also.
Note that wiping your drive can take a very long time (figure
overnight at least).
After you wipe your hard drive, you will need to re-install Windows
from your original CDs, so of course you will need them!
Andrew
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Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that
http://www.tolvanen.com/eraser/
You can set it to do a wire that is virtually impossible to recover
data from. I use it almost every day after deleting stuff. Be patient
if you use a really strong wipe and check "Cluster tip" it has to do
the entire hard drive so it can take hours and makes the computer look
like it has hung up.
I have never used it with "cluster tip" checked so not sure how serious
you want to get.
Dave
Barry Watzman
for free download. Several other similar programs exist.
Anything that actually overwrites the data will make it adequately
secure from recovery for all normal purposes (the FBI, CIA or NSA could
still recover the data, at a cost of tens or hundreds of thousands of
dollars, but no reasonable techniques by even very sophisticated techies
would work). Sometimes I just erase the disk and then fill it with many
copies of a harmless but very large file (video files, movies, etc.).
Note that simply erasing files, or even formatting the drive, does NOT
overwrite the drive, and thus is not adequately secure.
John Smith
Depends upon how badly someone wants to recover your information. The
answer the US government uses is a 12 pound sledge hammer, and not just
one blow. Converting the drive into plasma vapor virtually guarantees
that no one will ever be able to read it. The forensic recovery people
say that those two options are about the only ones that will prevent
them from retrieving data from a hard drive.
That said There are several programs available that will keep anyone not
willing to spend a small fortune from retrieving your data. A simple
format will not. A google search would have told you all this.
Ernest
<kc.c...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1146780265.2...@v46g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...
notebook and found that according to the websites visited by the previous
owner (married headmaster of a RC school) he was a gay.
Alexi
won't wipe your registry, just in case you really have something to hide.
"Ernest" <nos...@nospan.no.spam> wrote in message
news:e3eq02$a3b$1...@ctb-nnrp2.saix.net...
William P.N. Smith
>the ones on the Ultimate Boot CD (Google for it). This is a set of
>utilities on a CD that you can boot. You can download the ISO image
>of the UBCD, burn that to a blank CD, and boot it. Select the
>utility (I think the one I've used was AutoEnclave).
Autoclave just puts a wrapper around the Linux "shred" command, so
boot any CD-Boot Live linux distribution and run shred. [And then
reinstall everything from scratch, or deliver the rebuild disks with
the machine when you sell it, and make the buyer understand he'll have
to rebuild it from scratch.
Andrew
But for the average user, figuring out how to boot a Linux live CD and
run "shred" would be a lot harder than simply booting up a little
utility that would do exacly the same thing, don't you agree?
Andrew
: The average guy is fine to restore to factory image. Wiping is good. That
Er, yes, of course it will wipe your registry - it will wipe
everything stored on the hard disk, which includes the registry.
Andrew
: "Ernest" <nos...@nospan.no.spam> wrote in message
: news:e3eq02$a3b$1...@ctb-nnrp2.saix.net...
: >
: > <kc.c...@gmail.com> wrote in message
: > news:1146780265.2...@v46g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...
: >>I have a laptop computer that I will be selling soon. Before doing so,
: >> I want to make sure all personal information (banking information,
: >> passwords, work related documents) has been deleted and can't be
: >> retrieved. Is there a software program that can accomplish this or
: >> would it be best to replace the hard drive? Thanks for any help.
: >>
: > I agree that it is very necessary to wipe all. I once bought a second
: > hand notebook and found that according to the websites visited by the
: > previous owner (married headmaster of a RC school) he was a gay.
: >
--
William P.N. Smith
>William P.N. Smith <news...@compusmiths.com> wrote:
>: usenet...@bizaveMYSHOES.com (Andrew) wrote:
>: >the ones on the Ultimate Boot CD (Google for it). This is a set of
>: >utilities on a CD that you can boot. You can download the ISO image
>: >of the UBCD, burn that to a blank CD, and boot it. Select the
>: >utility (I think the one I've used was AutoEnclave).
>: Autoclave just puts a wrapper around the Linux "shred" command, so
>But for the average user, figuring out how to boot a Linux live CD and
>run "shred" would be a lot harder than simply booting up a little
>utility that would do exacly the same thing, don't you agree?
Oh, absolutely, I just felt really stupid about having done the UBCD
thing only to discover that several other boot disks I had around
would have done it. 8*)