Re: Deleting Files on Win32

There are a variety of tools available to "secure delete shred" files, see Free Country's web site.

Note: There is some questions as to whether it is truly possible to 'shred' a magnetically recorded file. I have had hall-way chats at conferences about 'secure deletion of magnetic media' with folks who have a strong interest in the topic. The consensus seems to be that short of physically destroying the media in a high-temperature furnace, given enough determination (and money) any erasure method can be reversed and a sizable portion of the data retrieved. The operant word in the last sentence is 'money'.

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I Go Back to Sleep, Now.

OGB

Comment on Re: Deleting Files on Win32

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Re^2: Deleting Files on Win32 by swampyankee (Parson) on Apr 25, 2007 at 01:29 UTC
Quite a while ago, when I worked for a US helicopter manufacturer, we had to write a security plan for ensuring that classified material on magnetic media could not be read. Our technique was to remove the platter from the hard drive and sand blast off the magnetic medium. Overkill is very much in the US military tradition; using a good tape degausser would probably be more than adequate. emc Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world. —Mary Shafer, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center	[reply]
Re^3: Deleting Files on Win32 by derby (Abbot) on Apr 25, 2007 at 12:38 UTC
using a good tape degausser would probably be more than adequate Ahh .. the good old tape degausser. I've ruined a number of watches (and probably a few brain cells) while running 9 track reels through em. Hmmm ... I need to find that release form that said I wouldn't hold the company liable if I became ill from using the degausser (nothing like forced contracts). -derby	[reply]