Summary: Destroy your data! (aka wipe a hard drive) Destroy your data? After all my episodes on backups, redundancy and software inventory, why would I be telling you to wipe a hard drive? Because sometimes, removing data can be as important as backing it up. If you have an older computer that you want to donate or sell. Or you want to give it to a relative or a friend, you don’t want any trace of personal data left on the hard drive. Identity theft is a big problem and you want to make sure you don’t expose yourself from data left on an old hard drive. Backup before you wipe a hard drive! Wiping a hard drive is serious. When done right, the data is completely unrecoverable (by anybody with fewer resources than say a three letter government agency). That’s a good thing since that is the entire point of doing this! Just be 100% sure before you use the tools mentioned in this episode that you are 110% sure that all your important data is backed up before you wipe a drive. Need a backup refresher? Check out Episode 006 – Backup Options for Windows. Fortunately getting rid of that old data is easy. Wiping a hard drive using freely available tools will make sure that you’re protected when that old drive leaves your hands. Listen in as I discuss: Erasing files isn’t enough … they can be recovered! Physical forms of destruction may not be enough and are not practical. How to burn an ISO to a blank CD or DVD using the free program ImgBurn. How to wipe a hard drive with DBAN Resources / Links Hard Drive Data From Space Shuttle Columbia Recovered YouTube video of a hard drive shredder in action Darik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN) The post Episode 014 – Wipe a hard drive with DBAN appeared first on Tech Preps.The post Episode 014 – Wipe a hard drive with DBAN appeared first on Tech Preps.
