laptop death

[Burntchef]

so my old pos dell is finally ready to be put down. i will be recycling it thru one of the local programs around but how do i zero it out so as no info can be retrieved? do i need to physically destroy the harddrive??


thanks

[kat]

i turned my mothers into a windchime, and there are some great refrigerator magnets in there.

[Dusty2]

Not really, Just do a full format and that will destroy all the info on the drive to the point that only a serious hacker could recover anything.

[airsix]

I typically apply a dose of .25-06, but any reasonably sized centerfire caliber will do just fine. Since you are friends with Josh you could borrow safety glasses and a maul and go caveman on it. If you are looking for a software solution try Boot & Nuke. The software solution works but is less satisfying.

[pogiguy05]

I typically apply a dose of .25-06, but any reasonably sized centerfire caliber will do just fine. Since you are friends with Josh you could borrow safety glasses and a maul and go caveman on it. If you are looking for a software solution try Boot & Nuke. The software solution works but is less satisfying.

Ready PULL

[dwashbur]

If you suspect there's anything on the hard drive that you haven't gotten, or that you might need later on, just take the hard drive out and tuck it away somewhere, and recycle the rest of the machine. I've done that a couple of times.

[Geek]

Just so you know, I can recover any data from a formated drive in about 15 minutes unless you do a low level format which will take you all night, if there is nothing wrong with the drive, I say keep it. You would be amazed at how handy a couple laptop drives laying around can be sometimes....Boot & Nuke is the best. The NSA might be able to read data off it but I doubt it..

[defied]

Just so you know, I can recover any data from a formated drive in about 15 minutes unless you do a low level format which will take you all night, if there is nothing wrong with the drive, I say keep it. You would be amazed at how handy a couple laptop drives laying around can be sometimes....Boot & Nuke is the best. The NSA might be able to read data off it but I doubt it..

That or plug it in to a linux box, and dd every sector with random data. Do that a few times over, and there will be no shadow data either. 0]

D(B)

[Sounder]

It's probably Dell's fault for making an inferior product. I think you should insist they replace it.

...or you could do what others suggest here. I'm going to be getting rid of a laptop here soon too (like yours, it's ready for the place in heaven where old laptops go to live with other laptops) - I'm doing nuke & boot and then doing a physical destruction and distributing/scattering the pieces.

I totally understand your caution though - I feel the same way and asked the same question of a couple computer-geek friends of mine. The Nuke & Scatter method was what they suggested for the best security.

[Marc]

There is a piece of freeware called "Boot and Nuke" and another called "Secure Erase" that work pretty well. I have some NIST software if it is REALLY important to scrub it. Let me know.

Marc

[defied]

FYI, all of the code everyone has offered up does the same thing. Copies random bits across the blocks of a hard disk. As it copies it more times than once, the "shadow" of the original data grows weaker and weaker, thus effectively removing any logical data.

The programs that have been recommended above will all do what you need.

The other option is to wrap an unshielded pair of cabling around the hard drive, and then plug the cable into a wall. >0] That will remove a good chunk of data, but won't be as effective. 0]

that's where the thermite comes in to play...

D(B)

[Marc]

Its all about overwriting with zeros.

[GMan]

On Windows, delete all of your files then run "cipher /w:c:\" (replace c: which whichever drive you want to clear).

[defied]

Its all about overwriting with zeros.

Right, overwriting the zero'z with more zero's, and ones, and more ones, and zero's... 0]
f you only cover the bits with 0's, it actually takes longer to wipe the shadow from that sector. writing random 1's, and 0's to one bit will ensure that it all goes buhbye. 0]

I would use the analogy of "rapidly turning a light on and off will burn it out", but that's not really an accurate metaphor for what's happening at the magnetic level. 0]

D(B)

[defied]

On Windows, delete all of your files then run "cipher /w:c:\" (replace c: which whichever drive you want to clear).

Just remember the <1K rule.

D(B)

[dlh]

A while ago I cleaned out my closet full of obsolete tech, and came up with a pile of 5 or 6 old hard disks full of old personal data. Some were so old I don't even remember what type of ribbon cable they connet to. No way I was going to go to the trouble of hooking them to a working computer and formating or wiping them.

No, I just took the easy way out and smashed them all with a big hammer! Nobody can be bothered to retrieve my boring data from bent disks and smashed circuit boards!

A long time ago I worked at Lockheed Aircraft and when the classified programs were completed and the computers de-commisioned they took all the hard disks to the shop and put about 10 big holes in them with a drill press and sent them to the incenerator.

[MrsDiverBob]

We just use a hammer on ours! Works great!!!

[Aquanautchuck]

I have used the "Hammer" several times but only when I was out of gas for my torch. Torching is real cool as the hard drive bubbles then falls apart. But my all time favorite way was with good old "Mr Colt". That was some fun shooting and you will get nothing from a hard drive with almost .50" holes in it. I never, never recycle a computer with the hard drive.

[ArcticDiver]

I take it from your post your hard drive is not encrypted. If so, another vote for just removing the drive and destroying it. After all hard drives are cheap, cheap, cheap so there is no economic reason to save the drive.

Formating no longer is a way to destroy data. The format command is not the low level function it once was. Even then there are people who will take the time to recover your data. Everyone has valuable secrets others will pay for. Only the uninformed or lazy let the data on their hard drives out of their possession unless the hard drive is encrypted.


Yes, you can use one of the "Security Erase" programs and given enough time for multiple passes they will make it difficult, not usually impossible to recover data from the drive. But it is so much simpler and cost effective to just pull the drive and destroy it.
Oh yes, be SURE you destroy the drive disks inside the drive. Drilling holes, using for target practice, smashing with an axe, etc all work. My favorite is the fire ax followed by removing the plates and disposing of them. Security and working off some frustration all at the same time. Golden!



On your new computer give some serious consideration to encrypting your hard drive. It really ruins a person's day to leave the laptop at the airport,or restaurant, or have it removed from your desk at work. With a proper security application the new "owner" will find the hard drive will be just so much junk, unless they want to turn a NSA level project loose on it. That is highly unlikely unless you are in very secret work and then you shouldn't be taking the laptop outside the workplace anyway.

[Mattleycrue76]

You can always try this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3jUl7KPpL4[/youtube]


Warning: Song Lyrics are NSFW

[defied]

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta.

I love that part. Especially Ron Livingston doing the "White guy shoulder dance" back at his apartment.

D(B)