Erase Disk Concepts

Modern methods of data encryption are deterring network attackers from extracting sensitive data from stored database files.

Attackers (who want to retrieve confidential data) become more resourceful and look for places where data might be stored temporarily. For example, the Windows DELETE command merely changes the files attributes and location so that the operating system will not look for the file. The situation with NTFS is similar.

One avenue of attack is the recovery of data from residual data on a discarded hard drive. When deleting confidential data from hard drives, removable disks or USB devices, it is important to extract all traces of the data so that recovery is not possible.

Most official guidelines regarding the disposal of confidential magnetic data do not take into account the depth of today's recording densities nor the methods used by the OS when removing data.

Removal of confidential personal information or company trade secrets in the past might have been performed using the FORMAT command or the FDISK command. Using these procedures gives users a sense of confidence that the data has been completely removed.

When using the FORMAT command Windows displays a message like this:

Important: Formatting a disk removes all information from the disk.

The FORMAT utility actually creates new FAT and ROOT tables, leaving all previous data on the disk untouched. Moreover, an image of the replaced FAT and ROOT tables is stored so that the UNFORMAT command can be used to restore them.

FDISK merely cleans the Partition Table (located in the drive's first sector) and does not touch anything else.

Disk Clone Industrial is able to erase data on entire drive with a choice of One Pass Zeros and One Pass Random international disk sanitizing standards