Remove All Personal Information From Computer (Data Wiping)

 

 

When it comes to selling, lending or recycling a computer that you no longer use, it is easy to overlook all the personal data that remains stored on the computer. One might think that formatting the machine is enough to erase that information forever. However, many times the data is stored in memory, and sometimes it ends up in the dark web, available to malicious hackers.

 

According to a study published Tuesday by the US software firm Rapid7 , there is a lot of private information that remains on electronic devices that are donated.

 

"To verify this, I spent six months extracting as much data as I could from devices available at companies that sell refurbished computers or accept donated items for sale after supposedly erasing the data," explained Josh Frantz, the company's security consultant.

Passports, credit cards and much more 

"At the end of the experiment, this research revealed that many of these companies are not meeting their guarantee of wiping data from the devices that people hand over to them." Personal information can be very valuable. Frantz says he was able to find out things like email addresses: dates of birth, social security numbers, credit cards, driver's licenses, or passport numbers. Credit cards and passports came from scanned images or photographs of the documents.

In all, Frantz extracted more than 200,000 data in images, about 3,400 in documents and almost 149,000 from a hundred devices. The expert recalls what several specialists in dozens of cybersecurity blogs say: that formatting -even if it is several times- or resetting a computer is not enough to erase that information . 

And sending your files to the Trash and emptying it or restoring Windows or iOS is not the most suitable either. With the right software and computer skills, it is possible to recover deleted files without great difficulty. The explanation is very simple: for the computer, "delete" in that case means "rewrite" on that data ... but it is still there.

 

"Realistically, unless you physically destroy the device, forensic experts can potentially extract data from it," says Frantz. "It is better to err on the side of caution and destroy them. Data wiping from the device is usually sufficient and can be a very simple process."

 

"If you're concerned that your data might end up in the wrong hands, destroy it," he says.

"And if you are going to donate your technology, make sure you have at least done a data wipe to an acceptable level. Even if they confirm in writing that your data will be wiped, there is no way to know if it is true ... unless it is delete yourself. "

 

How to erase all that information?

 

One option to effectively get rid of data is to use specialized software to clean your computer's storage drive or hard drive. This is known as "wiping" or secure Data Wiping . There are many free ones. 

For example:

 

·         DBAN

·         Unistal’s DATA Wipe

·         Disk Wipe

·         MHDD

·         Kill Disk

·         Free Eraser

·         Eraser

These programs work by filling the spaces where previously there was useful information to fill that space with useless data. To do this, they erase and repeat the process several times, so that there is no "trace" of the original data, explains the Colombian Security Association ( ASOSEC ). In any case, and despite the fact that these methods are usually effective, there is always a possibility, even a very small one, that someone will find a way to recover the data. 

"Technically, the only way that the data is definitely inaccessible is with the use of forensic hardware," says ASOSEC. This system consists of writing numerous times on the information with random data. But it requires high technology. Another option is to physically damage the hard drive or the device ... although then you will no longer be able to sell or recycle it. Keep in mind that water is not the best option: not only does it make your computer or hard drive useless, but the data is still there.

Magnets are generally more effective because they demagnetize the disc. And on various cybersecurity sites they talk about more radical solutions, such as hitting the computer or hard drive or setting it on fire.

"If you have very compromising data and you definitely want to make them disappear, the best option is to take this device and hit it with a mallet until it is completely pulverized," explains the Colombian agency.