On Monday 17 February 2003 10:51 am, tflan wrote:

> 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


Hi TFlan,

When "these guys" talk about "washing" a hard drive, - it is really a data 
wipe, - usually the result of overwriting all the old data (about 36 or so 
times).  It is believed by many, that this is more or less equivalent to a 
"government spec'ed "wipe" of data, to a point where it can't be recovered,- 
except perhaps by some very rich expert forensic specialists (like the 
government).

The are programs for this, - many are freeware, - such as "BCWipe", or "Wipe", 
- I don't know the current name or version, since I no longer use windoze 
(for about 2 years now).  I have used it, - and it seems good.  With this 
program, you can "clean" the empty space, and the "file slack" (unused end 
portion of a file, that contains old data.  "Fileslack" exists because any 
saved file will use an amount of space, which is a multiple of the minimum 
block size, - or whatever it is called.  (Sorry, I knew, but can't recall it 
at this moment).  There are sites (such as those distributing BCWipe/Wipe).

I hope this is usefull trivia.

Cheers,

Jorgen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-- 
Have you tried Linux yet?  

Reply via email to