11:53 AM
Kinsz
To completely remove a file from a computer involves much more than just deleting it. The operating system usually recognizes the deleted fail as being absent but that is not the case. The act of deleting only removes the reference information on the location of the file but the file is indeed still in the computer. If one was to dispose of their computer and it ended up with someone who wanted to retrieve the files then it would be very possible. This is easily achieved by use of data recovery programs. To secure erase hard drives before disposal solves this problem.
The programs usually consist of a set of in-built commands found in most ATA drives that were built after 2001. They work by overwriting all the tracks on a hard drive with other files. It only after this overwriting act is done that the contents of the files are completely removed. Reformatting the hard disk is not a substitute for this action as the data is still available. Reformatting only frees the space on the drive which can be written over.
One is required to select the folders, files, free disk space or cluster tips that they want to delete. Different random data patterns may be used to execute this action depending on the preference of the user. The currently available programs can work with almost all hard drive types (including RAID, IDE and SCSI) and also support the different types of partitions such as NFTS, FAT16 and FAT32.
Recovery programs may then be used to check for the efficiency of the action. Users should not always expect 100% efficiency as some data may not be erased. This may include data from protected files or that in files still being used. Some data are very difficult to erase but will be removed by free space wiping.
There are some precautions that one needs to take before using these utilities. Firstly, they must be sure that they want to delete the data. One the programs execute the action, the files can never be recovered again. Secondly, there should be a reliable source of power for the computer. Power failure during the secure erase causes the drive to enter a locked state and will no longer be accessible.
There are several programs available on the internet as freeware which can be used to secure erase hard drives but users may choose to buy the same if they do not trust these sites.
The programs usually consist of a set of in-built commands found in most ATA drives that were built after 2001. They work by overwriting all the tracks on a hard drive with other files. It only after this overwriting act is done that the contents of the files are completely removed. Reformatting the hard disk is not a substitute for this action as the data is still available. Reformatting only frees the space on the drive which can be written over.
One is required to select the folders, files, free disk space or cluster tips that they want to delete. Different random data patterns may be used to execute this action depending on the preference of the user. The currently available programs can work with almost all hard drive types (including RAID, IDE and SCSI) and also support the different types of partitions such as NFTS, FAT16 and FAT32.
Recovery programs may then be used to check for the efficiency of the action. Users should not always expect 100% efficiency as some data may not be erased. This may include data from protected files or that in files still being used. Some data are very difficult to erase but will be removed by free space wiping.
There are some precautions that one needs to take before using these utilities. Firstly, they must be sure that they want to delete the data. One the programs execute the action, the files can never be recovered again. Secondly, there should be a reliable source of power for the computer. Power failure during the secure erase causes the drive to enter a locked state and will no longer be accessible.
There are several programs available on the internet as freeware which can be used to secure erase hard drives but users may choose to buy the same if they do not trust these sites.
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http://www.techr2.com has a lot more useful information about secure erase hard drive.
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