Deleted but Not Gone (Must read, unless you have a computer science degree, IMHO)

NY Times ^ | November 3, 2005 | THOMAS J. FITZGERALD

[neverdem]

Maintaining privacy in the era of digital information requires work on a number of fronts, whether fending off spyware, protecting important files with encryption or configuring a Wi-Fi hot spot to keep interlopers off a wireless network.

One basic privacy measure, however, is easily overlooked: proper data destruction.

Deleting confidential data completely is essential when donating or selling old computers, and it can also help maintain privacy on computers that may end up lost or stolen. And for businesses looking for ways to comply with the security requirements of laws like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a sound policy on data control and destruction is crucial.

When normal deletion methods like the Recycle Bin or the delete command are used, the computer's operating system, for the sake of speed, creates an illusion that data has been deleted. In fact, it merely earmarks that region of a disk or drive as being available for new data to overwrite the old data. Until that overwriting occurs, the old data can be retrieved with undelete programs and tools used by data recovery labs and law enforcement agencies.

There are, however, several options for securely eliminating data from hard disks, U.S.B. flash drives and other storage media. These programs overwrite data with meaningless characters to render it unrecoverable with today's data recovery techniques. Some of the programs can overwrite entire drives...

--snip--

For example, Darik's Boot and Nuke, known also as DBAN, is a free open-source program available at dban.sourceforge.net. It runs on Windows computers and offers six methods to overwrite data, including a Defense Department standard (DoD 5220.22-M) that can overwrite the disk three times, as well as a method called PRNG Stream Wipe, which can make a user-defined number of disk overwrites using randomly generated characters.

[george76]

Thanks

[Rennes Templar]

Anyone know how to remove a pop-up stuck in registry files? Driving me nuts.

[Titan Magroyne]

Hunh! Interesting stuff to look into later.

[bitt]

http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2005/11/just_one_critic.html

Critical Windows Patch Coming Next Week:

Microsoft will release just one software update next week to plug a critical flaw in computers running its Windows operating system, the company said today. Redmond rates patches "critical" if they close a security hole that attackers could use to break in and take over vulnerable Windows machines.

Security Fix will have more details on the patch when it is issued on Tuesday.

[speekinout]

When you get rid of an old computer, pull the hard drive. A screwdriver and a hammer should finish the job.

That's what I do. Bashing the bejesus out of the old drive doesn't hurt the trade-in value, and it sure does protect your information. And it's fun. :-)

[COEXERJ145]

Try Microsoft's anti-spyware program. It actually works very well.

Microsoft Anti-Spyware

[LurkedLongEnough]

You guys are on track. A good sand rubbing works even better.

[COEXERJ145]

In criminal cases I've read of defendants purchasing several commercial data scrubbers and still the cops were able to retrieve everything. I wonder if the products mentioned really work.

Yes and no. It depends on how the program "destroys" the data. Where I work we have to clean certain hard drives so as to prevent Social Security Numbers from being retrieved. Just formating, even 10-20 times does not prevent recovery. We use a program that writes, overwrites, and overwrites again a total of 35 times as well as scrambling the 1's and 0's dozens of times. We run the program twice to be sure the hard drive is clean.

Lately though we've decided it was easier to have the hard drives removed and placed into an industrial shredder and ground into nearly a fine power. A lot quicker and easier.

[Pure Country]

I have a question. My daughter just wrote a paper last night for a college course. Saved it and got up this morning early to write the summary and the only thing that was saved was the final page that she was on when she saved it.

Anyone know how she can find the rest of the paper? It's on Word

[Coleus]

I've heard that evidence eliminator is a good program to delete cookies, content IE.5 files and history files.

[altura]

Excuse me... I remember VSX... in fact, I still have it.

I'm waiting for it to become a collector's item.

[Erasmus]

You mean, other than a garbage collector's item?

< ]B^)

[Porterville]

Or you can use the 15 day trial version then f disk your hard drive and do it again :)

[heybeavis]

search google for "Eraser" (free) or "East Tec Eraser" ($50) and you get some for windows too.

They both wipe files (browser cache too) as many as 35 times.

[cmsgop]

Thanks for that Tip,Hal. You should do a weekly column for us Mac FReepers,Thanks Buddy

[Born Conservative]

A thorough dunking in the river or lake should work well...

Probably not.

A thorough dunking in the river or lake should work well...

Probably not.

[Seamoth]

I don't need this article. I can delete hard drives by just looking at them. Must be my magnetic personality.