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"Smash Your Hard Drive" To Fight Identity Theft
Will Do This For Free writes "BBC News has a story about the only fireproof way of safeguarding your personal information when dumping your old computer: 'It sounds extreme, but the only way to be 100% safe is to smash your hard drive into smithereens. [...] The more thoroughly the better.'
This sounds like so much fun that I almost feel like doing it right now. Let me press Submit Story first."
So...I don't want my data to somehow magically be restored when I throw an old hard disk into a fire? Where can I read more about this amazing data-recovery technology?
This sig is certified free of self-referential humour!
and just use dBan, Derrick's Boot and Nuke.
Nothing beats an afternoon of watching dBan and a comfy chair. Beer or whisky optional.
import system.cool.Sig;
You'll have to excuse me. I'm need to go protect my ex-wife from identity theft.
Throwing into fire is not enough, the magnetic domain on the platter is still there for highly technical team to retrieve. You have to melt the hard disk into liquid and stir thoroughly.
There was nothing of substance in the video. The guy smashed his drive, Ontrack said it was smashed and couldn't be recovered...but then went on to say, "But we are really good at restoring water damaged drives!"
The whole discussion is made pointless when Ontrack says, "Oh, we can't restore a zero'd drives either."
I like my hard disk shaken, not stirred...
The platters don't have to be melted, they only need to be heated to the Curie point to loose all their information. Of course, that would still take a pretty hot fire.
RBFH - is that "Really Big F**king Hammer?"
Damn, I just bought a BFH to smash some walls. I wonder if I can upgrade with a serial number?
It's really not that hard to transfer platters. and yes use an identical drive.
a makeshift clean room is easy. run the shower in the bathroom for 15 minutes on the hottest setting and then shut it off and let the room cool down completely. the mist in the air will remove all dust as it falls to the ground. use a tyvek suit and cover your hair, face, hands and you're good to go.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Come on people! Zeroing a disk drive only removes half of your data. The other half is unchanged and still perfectly readable!
I read years ago (and I'm sure it was made up) of a memo sent out to IT managers in the DOD (United States Department Of Defense). It went.
To properly dispose of hard drives which may contain Top secret information is a 5 step process to be performed in the order specified and by competent engineers.
1. Perform a triple overwrite security erase on the entire disk.
2. Use a bulk degausser (AKA a powerful electro magnet).
3. Crush the drive under a roller or tank tracks, whichever is more convenient.
4. Melt the scrap into slag.
5. Bury that Slag in a toxic waste dump to deter any attempts at data recovery.
That's not exactly how it went but I think this is pretty close. Can anyone find the original?
--= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?
The problem is that modern hard drives do automatic defect mapping. The end result is that sometimes important data can be written to a sector, and then the drive will decide that sector is unreliable and map it out. That sector can no longer be accessed in any way. As a result you have a sector which contains data but cannot be wiped because the drive won't let you write there.
Flash memory is even worse since it does write balancing between all cells to PREVENT a failure of a sector, rather than deciding a sector is on its way out and mapping around it then.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
You must cast it into the fires of Mount Doom! Only then will your data be safe!