Wipe your free space.
Discussion
Every file you delete is stored in the free space of your hard drive. Windows re-names them and makes them invisible to Windows. They are still there even if you format and re-install Windows
To clean your free space properly and ensure all deleted files are actually deleted, do this:
1. Download and install Ccleaner.
2. Click 'Analyze' let it run (takes a while).
3. Click 'Run Cleaner' let it run (takes longer). When that's done.....
4. Click 'Options'
5. Click 'Settings'
6. Choose 'Secure File deletion' (3 passes should be enough).
7. Check which drives you want to clean.
8. Check 'MFT Free Space'
9. Run 'Analazyze' and 'Run Cleaner' again. Depending on the size of your drive(s) this can take a long time and may be best to run overnight.
To clean your free space properly and ensure all deleted files are actually deleted, do this:
1. Download and install Ccleaner.
2. Click 'Analyze' let it run (takes a while).
3. Click 'Run Cleaner' let it run (takes longer). When that's done.....
4. Click 'Options'
5. Click 'Settings'
6. Choose 'Secure File deletion' (3 passes should be enough).
7. Check which drives you want to clean.
8. Check 'MFT Free Space'
9. Run 'Analazyze' and 'Run Cleaner' again. Depending on the size of your drive(s) this can take a long time and may be best to run overnight.
Edited by Vespula on Monday 8th February 13:49
GaryGlitter said:
Every file you delete is stored in the free space of your hard drive. Windows re-names them and makes them invisible to Windows. They are still there even if you format and re-install Windows
To clean your free space properly and ensure all deleted files are actually deleted, do this:
1. Download and install Ccleaner.
2. Click 'Analyze' let it run (takes a while).
3. Click 'Run Cleaner' let it run (takes longer). When that's done.....
4. Click 'Options'
5. Click 'Settings'
6. Choose 'Secure File deletion' (3 passes should be enough).
7. Check which drives you want to clean.
8. Check 'MFT Free Space'
9. Depending on the size of your drive(s) this can take a long time and may be best to run overnight.
To clean your free space properly and ensure all deleted files are actually deleted, do this:
1. Download and install Ccleaner.
2. Click 'Analyze' let it run (takes a while).
3. Click 'Run Cleaner' let it run (takes longer). When that's done.....
4. Click 'Options'
5. Click 'Settings'
6. Choose 'Secure File deletion' (3 passes should be enough).
7. Check which drives you want to clean.
8. Check 'MFT Free Space'
9. Depending on the size of your drive(s) this can take a long time and may be best to run overnight.
Dibby said:
Meh, if you're really that security conscious, get rid of Windows all together. Now Microsoft's COFEE has escaped onto the net no-one is safe any more, especially on XP.
Just about everything I've read about this says it's much ado about nothing.There's been freeware stuff that does the same and has been out there for a loooooong time.
But the main point is true, if you want better security, skip MS altogether
Are we going to start getting threads on how to reinstall windows next.
In reference to the ops post, there are lots of programs that clean/shred/wipe empty space.
But what we all want to know is why you are so keen to shred this space.......
FBI, MI5, police or jealous wife/girlfriend?
In reference to the ops post, there are lots of programs that clean/shred/wipe empty space.
But what we all want to know is why you are so keen to shred this space.......
FBI, MI5, police or jealous wife/girlfriend?
It's a bit like having a burglar alarm. They don't stop people breaking in, but it means that thieves require more expensive kit and are more professional if they want to steal your things. The only way to be truly secure is to melt the disk platter in a furnace!
3 passes is nowhere near enough btw. You should be looking at over 10 passes with pseudorandom data. Even guttman algorithm at 37 passes is not fully secure due to some kind of residual magnetic stuff that I don't fully understand. Basically the more passes you do, the more expensive kit is needed to retrieve files.
There is a program called eraser which you can use to secure delete every file you delete on your pc, and there is another one called dban which fits on a floppy, cd or USB and when you boot into it it 'nukes' the machine from within a tiny memdisk OS. If using Linux there is a thing called shred.
I tend to use the above when selling disks or machines, but tbh if you shred letters and anything that can be used to steal your identity then you should be up on the above for sure. Therthingsthingse is SO much more that can be used on your PC for a malicious individual to take over your life.
It annoys the s
t out of me that if you take measures to protect yourself with your information on the net then it seems people think you have something to hide. Social networking means people seem to be less and less careful over the info they share, and don't really seem to be concerned about it either despite computers being more and more prolific.
Yes I am an IT consultant. No I don't hoard tinned food and weaponry for judgement day, and I'm not a terrorist either
3 passes is nowhere near enough btw. You should be looking at over 10 passes with pseudorandom data. Even guttman algorithm at 37 passes is not fully secure due to some kind of residual magnetic stuff that I don't fully understand. Basically the more passes you do, the more expensive kit is needed to retrieve files.
There is a program called eraser which you can use to secure delete every file you delete on your pc, and there is another one called dban which fits on a floppy, cd or USB and when you boot into it it 'nukes' the machine from within a tiny memdisk OS. If using Linux there is a thing called shred.
I tend to use the above when selling disks or machines, but tbh if you shred letters and anything that can be used to steal your identity then you should be up on the above for sure. Therthingsthingse is SO much more that can be used on your PC for a malicious individual to take over your life.
It annoys the s
t out of me that if you take measures to protect yourself with your information on the net then it seems people think you have something to hide. Social networking means people seem to be less and less careful over the info they share, and don't really seem to be concerned about it either despite computers being more and more prolific. Yes I am an IT consultant. No I don't hoard tinned food and weaponry for judgement day, and I'm not a terrorist either
Firstly, you can do this with a BUILT IN command which is useful if you are on a work computer and should not be installing programs:
Open a command prompt
Type cipher /w:c: and press enter. It will do three passes, one of 0's, one of 1's and one of random data.
Secondly, one full pass is enough. Once the disk space is wiped the only way to get the data back is with an electron microscope to TRY and read the magnetic trace. This is not likely to succeed in recovering complete data and is so expensive that the police have only attempted it in four or five cases of counter terrorism.
You could encrypt your c: drive properly too and avoid this issue.
Open a command prompt
Type cipher /w:c: and press enter. It will do three passes, one of 0's, one of 1's and one of random data.
Secondly, one full pass is enough. Once the disk space is wiped the only way to get the data back is with an electron microscope to TRY and read the magnetic trace. This is not likely to succeed in recovering complete data and is so expensive that the police have only attempted it in four or five cases of counter terrorism.
You could encrypt your c: drive properly too and avoid this issue.
Ultimate Boot CD contains a whole bunch of wiping tools, plus memory, chip, hard drive and motherboard diagnostic tools for free, hundreds of useful little apps on a bootable cd. Please don't go paying for things just because they have flashy on-screen pictures, they are a rip-off. UBCD has been in my emergency repair arsenal for years
As BVlown2CV says, as a nation we're becoming more computer savvy and more afraid of snooping while spreading more and more personal data about on the internet thanks to the rise social networks. Finding addresses, mother's maiden name, first school and pets name to guess passwords isn't that hard any more with the information we voluntarily throw out onto the internet. Blokes tend to use their wife's name, car registration, house name, women tend to use their kids or pets names. I reckon I could guess over half of the office passwords here given enough time and effort.
It would be a lot easier to go for the information you have already spread about on the internet, then what is on your hard drive, hunting about in the supposed empty space of a hard drive isn't really what 'hackers' are after, wiping tools are only really useful for when you sell a hard drive, USB memory stick or memory card.
Just out of interest, how does an SSD or flash memory stick wipe its data? Would 1 pass of 0s be enough if there is no residual magnetic-a-ma-bobs on a platter any more?
As BVlown2CV says, as a nation we're becoming more computer savvy and more afraid of snooping while spreading more and more personal data about on the internet thanks to the rise social networks. Finding addresses, mother's maiden name, first school and pets name to guess passwords isn't that hard any more with the information we voluntarily throw out onto the internet. Blokes tend to use their wife's name, car registration, house name, women tend to use their kids or pets names. I reckon I could guess over half of the office passwords here given enough time and effort.
It would be a lot easier to go for the information you have already spread about on the internet, then what is on your hard drive, hunting about in the supposed empty space of a hard drive isn't really what 'hackers' are after, wiping tools are only really useful for when you sell a hard drive, USB memory stick or memory card.
Just out of interest, how does an SSD or flash memory stick wipe its data? Would 1 pass of 0s be enough if there is no residual magnetic-a-ma-bobs on a platter any more?
TurricanII said:
Firstly, you can do this with a BUILT IN command which is useful if you are on a work computer and should not be installing programs:
Open a command prompt
Type cipher /w:c: and press enter. It will do three passes, one of 0's, one of 1's and one of random data.
Secondly, one full pass is enough. Once the disk space is wiped the only way to get the data back is with an electron microscope to TRY and read the magnetic trace. This is not likely to succeed in recovering complete data and is so expensive that the police have only attempted it in four or five cases of counter terrorism.
You could encrypt your c: drive properly too and avoid this issue.
Nice one. Not aware of cipher before. Open a command prompt
Type cipher /w:c: and press enter. It will do three passes, one of 0's, one of 1's and one of random data.
Secondly, one full pass is enough. Once the disk space is wiped the only way to get the data back is with an electron microscope to TRY and read the magnetic trace. This is not likely to succeed in recovering complete data and is so expensive that the police have only attempted it in four or five cases of counter terrorism.
You could encrypt your c: drive properly too and avoid this issue.
Another fan of dban here... and Truecrypt while we're at it...
Anything that minimizes risk if the laptop gets knicked / forgotten on a train has to be good. I agree that there is little substitute to melting the thing into cufflinks or whatever, but when these things sit in the background with no overhead (truecrypt) or take an extra 10 mins when rebuilding the thing (dban) then why not?
Anything that minimizes risk if the laptop gets knicked / forgotten on a train has to be good. I agree that there is little substitute to melting the thing into cufflinks or whatever, but when these things sit in the background with no overhead (truecrypt) or take an extra 10 mins when rebuilding the thing (dban) then why not?
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