[svlug] Erasing old hard drives

[Derek Konigsberg]

On Fri, Feb 24, 2012, at 07:28 PM, Steve Litt wrote:
> On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:25:51 -0800
> Bill Ward <bill at wards.net> wrote:
> 
> > Does anyone know of a tool that I can use to wipe out a hard drive to
> > ensure data cannot be recovered from it? I'm thinking something that
> > writes random data to every byte on the disk a bunch of times. I have
> > some old drives that used to contain personal information that I'd
> > like to donate to e-waste recycling but don't want anyone being able
> > to get in there and recover the data.
> > 
> 
> I erase hard drives with a program called "The Hammer". I bring the
> drive to my driveway, take a 20oz hammer, and beat it til there's not
> a piece of platter bigger than 1 square inch, and the circuit board is
> in at least 4 pieces. I wear safety glasses. Then I dumpsterize it.
> 
> The rest of the computer I often donate or hand-me-down.
> 
> This works well for me, because I switch hard drives between my
> family's computers, and by the time a hard drive is ready for The
> Hammer, it is either malfunctioning or utterly and hopelessly obsolete.

I use a different program known as "The Box".  Its slightly less
effective at reducing clutter, but it'll be quite some time before it
becomes unmanageable.  Once it does, I'll have a choice between "The
Hammer" and "The Detonation".  However, its more likely I'll wind up
opting for "The Copper Frisbee".

-- 
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 Derek Konigsberg
 dkonigsberg at logicprobe.org
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