How to securely erase data from hard drives

[ReluctantDecoy]

To the people saying to scuff up platter drives--are you doing every platter? Many drives have multiple platters. You might get the surface, but what about the ones underneath?

If I'm about to toss a drive, I first connect it to another computer and run a 10+ pass write-over. Those are not fool proof either, so a little physical damaged happens as well, but nothing crazy. Maybe some hammer strikes on the platter to warp it. I've also crushed a platter in a vise. But again, I'm not that concerned. The amount of time, effort, and uncertainty of results at that point means that someone really has to be gunning for you with an agenda to even try to do it, and the likelihood of that is remote.

With that said, I could see shooting them up being fun, so I'm all for it.

 

[OnTheRoad]

I take mine apart, keep the magnets to use around the garage and retask the platters as drink coasters.

Guess it's probably a good thing there's nothing important or interesting on them.

 

[cathouse01]

I take mine apart, keep the magnets to use around the garage and retask the platters as drink coasters.

Guess it's probably a good thing there's nothing important or interesting on them.

Yup, for my personal drives I just run a simple multiply erase utility, then a low level format, then put a couple of rounds thru them (they do make fun targets). If the drive is actually dead, it just goes to the range. Anything that might be of value to me on them (like account info or passwords) is already in an encrypted file. Chances of any sophisticated entity actually trying to get data off my drives is nil, so there is no reason to go to extremes to clear them.

 

[crispnipz]

Thread makes me wonder what the ratio of hard drives to guns owned by the average NES member is. Personally I have 4x as many hard drives as guns so time to pump those numbers up.

 

[MPhilip_510]

Used to ventilate old computers, flat panel monitors and computer hard drives with various caliber rifle rounds. AK, AR, .223 would punch nice holes thru most things. When you hit a PC tower with the Garand (at 50 yards), it would knock it 10’ into the woods!!!! After decimating removed hard drives, they sounded like a baby rattle. They were deemed sufficiently destroyed.

 

[chris_1001]

O

When I worked for a data protection company, we just used a big old degausser. The NSA actually has a list of acceptable products for degaussing (i.e. erasing) magnetic tapes and HDDs:

https://www.nsa.gov/Portals/70/documents/resources/everyone/media-destruction/degausser-epl.pdf

Of course these suckers are expensive, running in the $20K range. You can’t use your everyday “super strong” Neodymium magnets. If you’re really paranoid you can buy kits that include a degausser and a shredder, but just degaussing with an approved unit will satisfy the NSA.

Of course they say that (to the public)… what do they really use?

 

[Reptile]

I can't imagine needing more than 24 passes on a disk wiping program.

That's good enough for the NSA.

After you take the platters out - throw them in random garbage cans.

Different cans - one at Burger King, one at the supermarket etc.

I really doubt any data would be recovered after doing that.

With millions of drives being disposed of every year - I doubt some government agency is going to go out of their way to recover some random platter found in a land fill.

 

[OMM 0000]

My prefered method for an old drive is a hammer and a concrete floor. Hit it once or twice until it sounds like the drive is filled with sand. That said a few rounds sounds like even more fun!!