 |
Further
Reading ...
|
|
3 STEPS TO PROFITABLE WEB SITE!
1) CLEAN THE CLUTTER Don't load your web site with too much high-tech clutter. Your visitors may miss your sales message. Sometimes flashing and blinking graphics can make you page load slow and annoy your prospects. Also, test to make sure your...
Choosing the right printer ink
In today's technology age, most homes or offices have computers with printers. With regular use, printer ink may begin to dwindle. You'll notice that your printouts begin to look faded or splotchy. Supplies like paper and printer ink need to be...
Microsoft Dynamics GP: Great Plains Recycling Business Automation
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains could be considered as generic ERP platform to be tailored to fit specific industry and market niche. Being mature MRP system and so having a lot of third party modules, Great Plains could fit the unique...
Medical Practice Software Simplifies the EMR Process
The Electronic Medical Record , or EMR, has blossomed as the 21st century’s medical record management model. EMR databases consolidate and organize important medical records electronically, including the electronic medical claim . Medical...
|
|
|
Hard Disk Wiping and the Secure Removal of Data
|
 |
Written By:
Lee Sykes
|
|
|
Hard Disk Wiping and the Secure Removal of Data
It is important for businesses to recycle their computers, but have you thought about what happens to the data on your computer when it is collected?
How sensitive is the data stored on your hard disk?
If you are donating equipment to a recycler, you need to ensure that their data removal procedures operate to a high standard.
A recycler needs to honour the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998, in summary:
To treat all data obtained from a donation as confidential
To use appropriate methods to securely destroy all data
Notify the donor as soon as possible if any unauthorised use or disclosure of the data is made
How Do You Securely Remove Data?
If a hard disk is formatted, this is not a secure way to wipe data!
This method has inherent limitations, as only the file allocation tables and the pointers to the data (that render the data inaccessible) are destroyed. The data on the remainder of the drive is not destroyed, and the inaccessible data is easily retrievable. There are many free programs available on the internet to recover data from a formatted drive.
Best Practice:
A Recycler should use a piece of software which will:
run from a bootable floppy
report the actual hard disk capacity (the same reading as the BIOS and label on the HD)
overwrite a single character pattern to the entire HD
produce a report that all areas have been overwritten
report any bad or unusable sectors that cannot be overwritten
verify successful - continued below ...
|
|
|
continued ...
erasure
The key point here is that the hard disk is actually overwritten with new data – ie. 10101010
This ensures that your old data cannot be retrieved.
The Security Levels:
In order for a disk to be wiped to High Security Standards, such as Military Of Defense standard, the hard disk is overwritten several times, for instance:
Perform 3 overwrite cycles to all areas (where each cycle will be a single pattern, followed by its complement), and a final overwrite with a random character pattern (ie. A total of 7 overwrites) – verification of successful erasure should then be carried out for all Hard Disks.
How Do You Erase Data From A Hard Disk That No Longer Works?
The simplest way to ensure this is to destroy the Hard Disk. Recyclers have many different methods for this, but an example is to drill a hole through the disk, just off centre.
Summary
Before you allow your computer equipment to be collected, ensure you check the recyclers’ procedures for the secure removal of data from your hard disks. Most recyclers will also provide some form of report after the collection to guarantee the data from your hard disks was securely removed.
About the Author
Lee Sykes operates the online WEEE Recycling Directory (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment)
A free service where you can search for Computer Recycling in your area, post a tender and request a Collection of Computer Equipment, as well as provide businesses information regarding how to comply with the WEEE Directive.
http://www.weeedirectory.com
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| _Additional Resources ... |
|
Less Caffeine, More Internet through WildBlue
You need to visit a website loaded with pictures, animations and music. You click on the link. You go and put on the coffee. You wait. When it's done, you pour yourself some and carry it to your desk. You take a sip. It needs more sugar. You go back...
How To Use Email Autoresponders to Boost Customer Loyalty
Your e-commerce website relies on its customers to become returning customers in order to develop a successful business. The question you might be wondering, however, is how to make your customers become loyal to you and return. There are plenty of...
5 Reasons You Should Join The PDA Phone Revolution Today!
There is a quite revolution taking place both in the cell phone and in the PDA industries. This is happening right under the noses of most people. But those who are smart enough can jump right in and benefit big. What I'm talking about is the PDA...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
