Blanking Hard Drive

[carlton23]

There`s a lot of talk about the best way to blank the hard drive to prevent fraud when you scrap your PC. What do the experts say is the best way?

[Gormless]

There's a little video on the BBC about it.

Dropped from a 2nd floor window, dropped into a pond, run over with a car, smashed with a hammer - unsurprisingly the platters were reduced to smithereens and nothing was recoverable.

Loads about it here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7816446. stm

[ChuckFickens]

when we scrap our company hard drives I either hammer a punch through them a few times or drill several holes through them

[rojash]

Although quite smashing in their own way, those methods mean you can't sell the machine, and you have to get a bit physical. If like me, you prefer to do it all without getting off your arse, you can use something like this: http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase .shtml

[Brooksy]

A 6" nail & a hammer is the easy & safe way.

[Gormless]

To put a little perspective on it, what is a hacker likely to gain from your hard drive? Not much. Credit card details can be bought online for �10, so why spend more than minimal attention to yours. It is sensible not to give away or sell your hard drive, but it's not a huge risk. Format it, low-level format it. Second-hand pcs have virtually no value anyway, my organisation is putting hundreds out for scrap, sadly. Best thing is to smash it to pieces.

I imagine however that if there was a suspicion that Osama Bin Laden's address were on it then supreme efforts would be made by the very best people to get it.

[rojash]

I wonder where those credit card details that can be bought on line come from? Old hard drives maybe?