Overview of Hard Drive Wiping

Overview of Hard Drive Wiping

The security of your company should be a priority. Whatever department you are in the company, it is vital to make sure that the data of the organization is guarded. One of the best ways to keep the information about your firm safe is through safe data destruction. That is an essential thing when you are donating, trading in, or selling your computer. The ordinary deleting of files and folders on your computer is not sufficient.

Data wiping is a process of making the information unreadable. It is vital to note that data is not removed by this information. New information is overwritten on the hard drive making the original information unreadable. It is essential because if the hard drive is to be used by another person, they cannot access your information even when you are using the data recovery methods.

Data wiping can be achieved using a variety of methods. Methods such as dod wiping, Gutmann, and zero filling methods are used in the cleaning of the data from your hard drive. The methods of wiping the data must comply with the standards.

Single-pass overwrite involves wiping the data by passing a set of characters (ones or zeros) on the drives for only one time. Three-pass overwrite, on the other hand, invoices overwriting the drive three times. Zeros are first overwritten, followed by ones, and then random numbers. Seven-pass-overwrite resembles the three pass methods, but the overwriting is done seven times. A method like the Gutmann overwrite the disk 35 times but is challenging to implement and slow to do the wiping.

For big organizations, it is vital to hire a professional hard drive wiping specialists. Using software to wipe data is time-consuming, and therefore, you need someone who can complete the process very quickly. Some of the software that you will find on the market can only wipe the newer generation OS. If you are using the older versions, like Windows XP, then you will require a specialist. The professional will ensure that the information does not reach the hands of the wrong people.

You are wondering whether you can do the data wiping on your own. It is simple because you are only required to download the right data wiping software like White Canyon on the internet. Run the program on the computer and clear all the information. Some OS comes with the inbuilt data wiping program. You can access the program while you are reinstalling the operating system.

Beyond the data wiping, you can consider completely deleting the drive. Hit it with a hammer and then dispose of it. The military method of physical destruction is by the use of the magnet to destroy the hard drive.