ShopTalk: To continue with computers . . .

[tflan]

There was an interesting news item on TV last night about computer security. Seems like donated computers are really popular with some nefarious hackers. Data is being retrieved from the HD's and used to create identity thefts. I guess a lot of y'all know that when you "delete" info from the HD it isn't really deleted - its simply camouflaged by the removal of the first letter on the file. Its easily recovered. Several years ago I had a program (DOS) called "XTREE" that opened any and all files on my machine and allowed for erasure.   The reporter on the program spoke with a few "hackers" and asked how to dump all data permanently. They mentioned reformating the HD via "FDisk" and deleting partitions. However, they said that the only sure and certain way was to completely "wash" the disk, or take a hammer to it.   So, I'm wondering; does there exist a program anywhere that will totally erase files without "washing" the HD.   Inquiring minds need to know.   TFlan