Over time we are saving all kinds of data and personal files on the hard drive on our computer. These files are always with us in a safe place on the hard drive until, suddenly, we change computers. That is when we copy them to the new computer and forget regarding the old one to probably sell it or give it to someone else. In the best of cases, we delete the files normally, or we format the disk thinking that, then, nobody will be able to see our personal files. We are very wrong.
When we delete a file from the hard drive, or format the PC, what we are doing is mark space as available so that the new files that are copied to the PC do so in that space, overwriting the information that we previously had stored there. However, until the files are overwritten, the data is still present on the disk, and with special data recovery programs it is possible that the person who now has our hard drive can recover them. And thus access all our information.
To avoid this, below we are going to leave you some very basic tips thanks to which we will be able to completely destroy all the data on the hard drive. And, thus, we will prevent anyone from being able to get hold of them.
DBAN, the destruction of data on a hard drive
The first of the forms destroy all data on a hard drive it is through a software called DBAN. This tool, totally free for personal use, is in charge of carrying out all the necessary tasks to guarantee the total erasure of the data from our SSD, preventing nothing and no one, not even with forensic tools, from being able to recover this data. What this program does is overwrite each and every one of the sectors of the hard disk several times so that the information not only disappears, but also makes it impossible to reverse the bits to recover it.
We can download this program from your website. Of course, this program only works for conventional hard drives, not for SSDs. In the event of having to erase an SSD, it is necessary to resort to other, professional, more specialized software such as Blancco Drive Eraser.
Low level formatting
If using the previous Boot and Nuke is difficult for us, we have another excellent method to erase the data saved on the hard drive: use the tool HDD Low Level Format. A low-level format is a task whereby all sectors of the hard drive are forcibly set to “0”, destroying all information on them. In this way, we not only leave the disk as if it had just left the factory (which helps us to correct possible problems), but also allows us to prevent the information from being recovered. At least, by non-forensic techniques.
Here we can see how erase data from a hard drive with HDD Low Leven Format.
Physically destroy the hard drive, the best option
Finally, if we really want to make sure that our data does not fall into the hands of absolutely no one, what we must do is completely destroy the hard drive. For this we can carry out different techniques, although the most effective is usually drill it from top to bottom several times to make several holes in the plate inside.
The more we destroy the drive, the less data they can recover.