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July 13, 2020
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Hard Drive Eraser free download - Hard Drive Upgrader, Erase Your Hard Drive, Hard Drive Inspector Professional, and many more programs. Step 3 Select the external hard drive or SD card you want to erase data, and select 'Erase Sectors' option under Tools menu. Step 4 Select items to fill disk sectors and click Erase button on the popped-up window. There are four options to fill disk sectors in the drop-down list, i.e. Random Data, 00, FF and User Specify. You can either choose. Hard Drive Eraser uses an advanced and secure algorithms to erase drive volumes and partitions. The speed of erasing is dependant of the speed of your system, particularly hard drive. To download Hard Drive Eraser check the download pagewith the latest version. Hard Drive Eraser can help you with this task. This standalone utility deletes the contents of any hard drive on your system in such a way that it's impossible to recover the data. It includes four different wiping methods, ranging from the most simple one, Write zeros, to the safest – and slowest – Peter Guttman method that overwrites data.
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You want to donate or recycle your old computer gear, but there’s something you have to do first — wipe your hard drive. That means clearing out all your personal information.
You may think that’s not a lot of stuff, but your old devices probably hold a ton of information. Your medical records, browser history, login info for your bank account, past emails — all that information about you that accumulates on a device.
It’s not enough to simply delete old files. Why? The delete button doesn’t actually delete.
Your personal information will be retrievable on a computer’s hard drive unless you take steps to wipe the hard drive clean. If you don’t, the files are there for the taking. Anyone with recovery software and bad intentions could access them and put your privacy and the security of your personal information at risk.
How to completely wipe a hard drive
Follow these steps to ensure you’re truly wiping your hard drive clean. They’ll help keep you from passing on or losing your documents, photos, passwords, financial information, and personal data when you say goodbye to your old device.
Step 1: Back up your hard-drive data
Before you wipe your computer’s hard drive or do a factory reset, make sure to back up all of your information to your new computer, an external hard drive, or a web service.
Backing up your data regularly is a smart way to keep your data safe. Hard drives can crash, get lost, stolen, or encrypted by ransomware software. The best defense is to make sure all the data is backed up safely and frequently.
You can back up your data on thumb drives or USB flash drives. But keep in mind these are small storage devices and may not accommodate all the data from your PC. External hard drives can offer more storage. You can also transfer your data to another laptop or PC.
“Cloud backs” are another option. They’re safe and one of the most convenient ways to store data. Here’s how it works.
First, you create an account and complete the initial setup. Next, you enable the storage of your data to the cloud — a network of remote servers. There’s no physical location for the backed-up data. So the risk of it getting stolen or destroyed by things like floods or fires is mitigated. Plus, the files are encrypted. That makes it difficult for cybercriminals to access or steal your information.
The importance of data backup
It’s a good idea to make backing up data a part of your cyber hygiene. If you happen to lose your data due to a hardware defect or ransomware attack, having a backup could be the respite you’re looking for.
Step 2: Don’t just delete files from your computer
You might think moving your documents to the trash or recycle bin and emptying it will do the trick. Maybe not. This action appears to delete the files, but often leaves them where they were, hidden from view. Most data recovery programs can actually recover these hidden files.
Here’s why. When you empty files from the trash or recycle bin, the file name or the reference to the deleted file is erased. The computer can no longer see the file.
This means the space the file took up on the laptop or PC is no longer reserved for that file. But the file is still in the hard drive. It will stay in the hard drive until its location is given up for a new file to be stored in that exact location.
Data recovery software is capable of rebuilding the file header. This makes it possible for the computer to see the file again.
Here’s the risk. When your files are not deleted completely from the hard drive, cybercriminals can run data recovery software to access your deleted files.
Law enforcement agencies use data recovery software to access deleted files from confiscated computers. Cybercriminals can use the same tools and techniques to commit identity theft.
Step 3: Use a program to wipe your drive
Hard Drive Eraser Usb
Special software programs can permanently erase your hard drive. There’s little chance you can get any data back. Similarly, no one else will be able to use data recovery software to recover your files.
Hard Drive Eraser Iso
Most programs run a low-level format that overwrites all the deleted files with zeros and other incomprehensible data. This makes it impossible for data recovery software to recover the files.
DBAN is a free data destruction program* that completely erases files on a hard drive. This includes all personal files, operating systems, and installed programs.
It’s smart to use a program to wipe your device. Most products offer proof of erasure. Some even provide information about what was done to the drive and its data. This helps when wiping a company laptop or PC.
Step 4: Physically wipe your hard drive
If you want to double-ensure your hard drive is wiped, you can take additional measures. For instance, you can physically wipe the drive. Just remove your hard drive and take a rare earth magnet to it. Another option? Physically dismantle it with a screwdriver.
A rare earth magnet, like the neodymium magnet, can be used to deform the metal plates in the hard disk. This makes it unusable. One warning: The magnets are powerful and can cause physical harm if used incorrectly.
A safer method might be using a screwdriver to dismantle the pieces of the hard drive to make it useless.
Step 5: Do a fresh installation of the operating system
There’s another way to completely rewrite over the whole hard drive. That’s by completing a clean installation of the original operating system that came with the computer. This can be especially important if you’re giving the device to someone like a friend or family member.
What are the risks of not wiping my hard drive?
As the line between the real world and digital world blurs, it’s smart to understand how cybercriminals work. A security product like Norton Security Premium helps protect your personal PC files, financial information and your family’s devices. But when you discard your device without properly wiping the hard drive, you run the risk of losing your data.
Cybercriminals value your personal data — such as your email address, passwords, Social Security number, driver’s license details, and credit card information. They could sell the information on the dark web.
Cybercriminals can buy the information and launch cyberattacks to commit other kinds of crimes like identity theft and extortion. They could open bank accounts in your name, purchase items with your credit card information, or take out loans and default on them, leaving you with the consequences.
Thieves also look for private and confidential information. This may include non-disclosure agreements, personal photographs, private chat conversations, and other details you may not want to expose. If a hard drive wasn’t wiped clean, cybercriminals could retrieve this information to blackmail the owner of the content.
Types of data deletion
No matter what kind of data you had on your computer before you decided to donate or recycle it, it pays to play it safe.
Remember, deleting your files from the recycle bin or trash doesn’t mean the file is gone from your device. It only means its location is available. Data recovery software can easily find those files in your hard drive.
Here are a few ways to wipe your hard drive like the pros and avoid the risk of someone accessing your old data.
1. DBAN
Short for Darik’s Boot and Nuke, DBAN* uses a random number generator that wipes and overwrites everything on the drive several times. Every file that has been deleted now has the new number assigned to it. This makes it impossible for data recovery tools to access it. This tool is useful if you plan to sell, donate, or recycle your computer or laptop.
2. Destroy the hard drive
A sure way to completely destroy the hard drive is to make it physically impossible to access the disks. This can be done by dismantling the pieces of the hard disk with a screwdriver and using a hammer to scratch and mangle the disk. The goal is to make sure the disk will not work when it is loaded into another hard drive. A powerful rare earth magnet can also be used to destroy the platter in the hard drive.
How Norton Utilities can help wipe your hard drive
Hard Drive Eraser Reviews
Your PC is likely packed with personal files. It’s wise to keep all that information secure and private. Norton Utilities is a handy tool that keeps your PC running like new. It fixes common issues that slow down or crash your PC. It also frees up space by finding duplicate files and unused applications.
It’s commonplace to store personal files on your PC. Now it’s easy to keep your digital life private. Safely dispose of personal documents, so no one can access them. Think of it as a digital shredder. Norton Utilities helps keep what you do on your computer private. It can permanently erase all record of your computer and web-based activities to help protect your privacy.
It also safely disposes of personal documents permanently and renders them inaccessible. Most of all, it maintains your digital privacy by erasing your recently opened files and website browsing history.
There’s a lot you can do to help protect your personal information if you take the right steps before disposing of your old computer.
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Editorial note: Our articles provide educational information for you. NortonLifeLock offerings may not cover or protect against every type of crime, fraud, or threat we write about. Our goal is to increase awareness about cyber safety. Please review complete Terms during enrollment or setup. Remember that no one can prevent all identity theft or cybercrime, and that LifeLock does not monitor all transactions at all businesses.
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Hard Drive Eraser Software is an advantageous data deletion utility that helps users to delete data without worries it can also be recovered later on. This protects identity and prevents any misuse of information on the disk. Space is overwritten by different patterns. Here we have provided a reviewed list of the best hard drive erasing software that will efficiently do the trick.
Related:
Active killdisk
The software is extremely easy to use and download which deletes & destroys all data on hard disks, SSDs and USBs in a very efficient manner. These are virtually non-recoverable, making the software a drive sanitizing tool and partition eraser utility. The software is compatible with Windows, Linux & DOS systems.
DBAN
DBAN is data wiping software which automatically deletes the contents of any hard disk it detects. Thus, the data would be deleted before the computer is recycled. This is a commonly used Windows OS software. The interface is extremely user-friendly and protects identity theft with the smart deleting utilities.
SDelete v2.0
The software is a command line utility and allows users to delete one or many files & directories. The software allows users to cleanse space on logical disks. SDelete handles files using defragmentation API. The software uses various wild characters as part of the directory or file specified. The software supports all popular Windows file systems, NTFS, Fat, Fat32.
Hard Disk Eraser For Other Platforms
Disk Wipe
This free software runs on Windows OS and is used for permanent data deletion purposes. With the use of the software, one can successively delete all the data on the drive without any chance of its recovery. This prevents any theft of information and space is filled in with random binary data entries. The software is portable and doesn’t need any installation.
WipeDrive
Hard Drive Eraser Software
The software is Linux compatible and completely erases data leaving it unrecoverable. The software uses military grade wiping technology that ensures complete destruction of data & space is filled in with military approved patterns that prevent any data recovery. Malware & viruses can efficiently clean out using the software.
Disk Wiper
Disk Wiper is an excellent hard disk erasing software for Macintosh 10.7 & higher. The software can clean out entire hard disks, portions of the disk or the free space in the disk. The software efficiently deletes files with minimal effect on the system and management of files on your disk can be done with more precision with the use of the software.
Most Popular Hard Disk Eraser Software – Eraser
This software is an advanced security tool and runs on Windows OS that completely deletes data from your disk by overwriting it with selective patterns. Unlike other hard disk erasers, eraser allows the user retrieve data before it is overwritten using disk maintenance utility. The software works with a scheduler that is easily customizable. You can also see Data Destruction Software
Hard Drive Eraser 2020
What is Hard Disk Eraser Software?
Hard Disk erasing software is an excellent utility that allows users to delete and free up space on hard disks, SSDs and USBs. Sometimes, when data is manually deleted, they can be recovered. If this data is acquired by someone else there can be identity theft and it can be misused as well.
Thus, Hard Disk Eraser software destroys any data on the disk and overwrites the disk with random binary data which has nothing to do with the originally stored data. As the software is available for various OS, users can avail the advantages of the software on all platforms.
Use Hard Disk Eraser Software for efficient deletion of all data from hard disks without any fear of anyone else recovering your crucial & important information. Eradication of viruses and malware can also be done with the use of the software that will increase system performance.