Fastest secure erasing of HD's?
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From: The NewGuy on 30 Jul 2008 18:12 When you zero out the data it can take quite a while. Several passes takes hours for most hard drives. I was wondering if it helps the security aspect to change the partitioning scheme in Disk Utility. One could partition in Guid then Apple Partition Map then MBR in less than a minute. But does it make any difference in the ability for others to extract data off the hard drive? If not, is there another way of quickly making a hard drive difficult to read without zeroing out data?
From: Tom Stiller on 30 Jul 2008 18:30 In article <noemailhere-F9BBB5.17123730072008(a)news.mts.net>, The NewGuy <noemailhere(a)please.comm> wrote: > When you zero out the data it can take quite a while. Several passes > takes hours for most hard drives. I was wondering if it helps the > security aspect to change the partitioning scheme in Disk Utility. One > could partition in Guid then Apple Partition Map then MBR in less than a > minute. But does it make any difference in the ability for others to > extract data off the hard drive? If not, is there another way of > quickly making a hard drive difficult to read without zeroing out data? No. Forensic techniques don't rely, or even need, partition data. If you want a fast way to securely delete all the data on the drive, dismantle it and destroy the platters. -- Tom Stiller PGP fingerprint = 5108 DDB2 9761 EDE5 E7E3 7BDA 71ED 6496 99C0 C7CF
From: George Kerby on 30 Jul 2008 18:45 On 7/30/08 5:12 PM, in article noemailhere-F9BBB5.17123730072008(a)news.mts.net, "The NewGuy" <noemailhere(a)please.comm> wrote: > When you zero out the data it can take quite a while. Several passes > takes hours for most hard drives. I was wondering if it helps the > security aspect to change the partitioning scheme in Disk Utility. One > could partition in Guid then Apple Partition Map then MBR in less than a > minute. But does it make any difference in the ability for others to > extract data off the hard drive? If not, is there another way of > quickly making a hard drive difficult to read without zeroing out data? Sledge hammer?
From: George Kerby on 30 Jul 2008 18:46 On 7/30/08 5:30 PM, in article tomstiller-ED3FB7.18302930072008(a)news.verizon.net, "Tom Stiller" <tomstiller(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > In article <noemailhere-F9BBB5.17123730072008(a)news.mts.net>, > The NewGuy <noemailhere(a)please.comm> wrote: > >> When you zero out the data it can take quite a while. Several passes >> takes hours for most hard drives. I was wondering if it helps the >> security aspect to change the partitioning scheme in Disk Utility. One >> could partition in Guid then Apple Partition Map then MBR in less than a >> minute. But does it make any difference in the ability for others to >> extract data off the hard drive? If not, is there another way of >> quickly making a hard drive difficult to read without zeroing out data? > > No. Forensic techniques don't rely, or even need, partition data. If > you want a fast way to securely delete all the data on the drive, > dismantle it and destroy the platters. I find my method more satisfying and tension-relieving. <G!>
From: Gregory Weston on 30 Jul 2008 19:40
In article <noemailhere-F9BBB5.17123730072008(a)news.mts.net>, The NewGuy <noemailhere(a)please.comm> wrote: > When you zero out the data it can take quite a while. Several passes > takes hours for most hard drives. I was wondering if it helps the > security aspect to change the partitioning scheme in Disk Utility. One > could partition in Guid then Apple Partition Map then MBR in less than a > minute. But does it make any difference in the ability for others to > extract data off the hard drive? Not a speck. > If not, is there another way of > quickly making a hard drive difficult to read without zeroing out data? Orbital sander. You may think I'm being flippant, but I'm not. The most reliable way - and certainly if speed is a criterion - to ensure that a hard drive is unreadable is to physically destroy the recording surface. Disassemble the drive and hit the platters with some kind of grinder or polisher. -- "Harry?" Ron's voice was a mere whisper. "Do you smell something ... burning?" - Harry Potter and the Odor of the Phoenix |