The title of the post may seem wrong or odd to most of you. The title is correct and I am talking about other side of story of data security. Any deleted data over your hard disk can be recovered using specialised applications even if your hard disk is not working or you have deleted it from your hard disk including Recycle Bin. The risks are more if you take the system for repair to your local computer technician or you leave it unsecured or you sold your PC to someone etc.
So how to make deleted files and folders unrecoverable ? It can be done by overwriting all free space on your hard disk(s) that contain fragments of deleted files with the random data to avoid any possibility of recovery. You may ask how to do this? Well, a small FREE application called “Prevent Restore” will help you do that.
It uses several security algorithms (DoD 5220.22, Gutmann you can replace deleted data with random characters, digits, spaces e.t.c.). While writing Prevent Restore fills out information to the end of each cluster, leaving no chance to restore even just one word!
The concept of doing something like this is new for me. I never thought about this if it can be done in someway like this. As the possibility of restoring a overwritten data is bleak , it looks like a great tool for everyone. As WikiPedia talks about same here :
“Since 1996 …there’s no practical evidence that overwritten data can be recovered. Moreover, there are good reasons to think that it cannot.”
Prevent Restore makes unrecoverable temporary files, cached files, logs e.t.c. which were also previously deleted. It does offer a paid version but I was not able to differentiate the features.
Download Prevent Restore Free Version.
Just give it a try. I would love to hear everyones opinion on this.
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Cool, i get my monthly bank statement by email.
Password-protected pdf of course, but it can be cracked, so this would come in handy
OK. First, the annoying parts: It opens web pages using an algorithm that doesn’t alert Online Armor Pro, which I personally object to. Really distressing is the fact that, unless you register the program ($), only “Replace with Spaces” is available. Gutmann, DoD, etc. are not part of the free package.
The good side? Well, it’s small and doesn’t load up your registry.
I’ve used Heidi’s eraser for years. Works from the context menu to erase files, wipe free space, and offers a range of DoD overwrites. Also free, btw,
http://eraser.heidi.ie/
For a good read on destroying data, check out the “Leave No Trace” article on Gizmodo.
http://gizmodo.com/5489933/leave-no-trace-how-to-completely-erase-your-hard-drives-ssds-and-thumb-drives
hth
Hi Avinash, thanks for the tip.
Think there is alot of users who don’t think of the risks by leaving the computer harddisk just like it is, for example after a crash, prevention of boot in normal way or after been exposed to virus or rootkits and other malicious behavior.
Particularly when leaving it away to someone who fix it or when useing the guaranty from the store. Similar like the subject here, even if it can’t boot and make a normal startup it does’nt mean that all your saved files and maps are gone inside the computer, nor that the harddisk is broken or become “crashed” or that all your files are gone after been doing a reformat of the current partition.
Today there is alot of recovery tools which can bring quite much of it back even if the drives has been reformatted and that’s why this article are also very important for peoples protection of their privacy.
Ok sometimes there might be an physical conclusion but that shall never be the first solution for what ocured when dealing with a computer which fails to start.
Right in this moment I remember another good alternative which has free software – Convar http://www.pcinspector.de/EMaxx/aboutus.htm?po=4&language=1 and their Emaxx, there’s two other good tools for recovery and makeing clones as well. (Emaxx might be found inside UltimateBootCD).
Remember that by install a software for erase and destroy the written data on the harddisk like we normally do with all programs, we also prevent some important parts on the drive from being wiped out as the rest of the surface.
That’s easy solved by useing an bootable Live CD which include a wipeing tool.
Look for software which has features for makeing an iso image or already premade iso files for download / burn it to CD and you ready to go.
These only loads itself into the memory RAM and don’t use the harddisk.
Check out these as well http://www.ultimatebootcd.com
http://www.hirensbootcd.net/screenshots.html
Both HirensBootCD and also BartsPE http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/
has features included for the user to make and install their own plugin for favorite programs to have on the CD during creation of the iso image.
But first check with the manufacturer of your haddisk for more effective reliable eraseing tools and solutions.
Have a good day everyone!
Take care
Don’t forget Piriform CCleaner which has:
DOD 5220.22-M (3pass)
NSA (7pass)
Gutmann (35pass)
In options it’s also possible to decide where to wipe and which files to erase.
hi .
been using systemshield and drivescrubber from iolo.com for years without any problems for years
i dont know how the settings for this program work , but one should get at least 9 passes (!) that is considered the min , with some recovery software and hardware its possible to get the data unless at least 30 plus passes have been made . nato and the dod consider at least 35 passes for top secret to be safely deleted .
its always handy to have such a program , deleted mail , ninstalled programs and so on , taking the option for example if you can of 01 01 01 01 and so on allows new software to be installed in clean sectors , without any chance of havinf older info written in the deleted space ( or blank unused space ) and thus causing problems , …. its also a great way to remove bugs , trojans and other nasty stuff away after it has bee cleaned by am or av (!)
and last but not least for the people who think they are save , imagine your 4 gig of memory , thats a lot of data that can be used to find out info !
have a nice day
ps , some of these cheap or free programs collect info about you and your comp , so be sure to check out before you install them (!!)
pss , you dont have to be paranoid to install this type of protection , think of it as a digital file shredder , you dont want people to go over papers neither , same with comps
Related reading from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random-access_memory
Contrary to simple models (and perhaps common belief), the contents of modern SDRAM modules are not lost immediately when the computer is shut down; instead, the contents fade away, a process that takes only seconds at room temperatures, but which can be extended to minutes at low temperatures. It is therefore possible to recover any data stored in ordinary working memory (i.e. the SDRAM modules).[7] This is sometimes referred to as a cold boot attack, aka ice-man attack.
Maybe a good reason of any to be more careful when it’s winter season than in the warmer period of the year;)
Thanks for the tip.
Will it prevent the data to be recovered by data recovery companies which recover the data by hardware and not by software?