Question: How difficult is it to permanently
remove / erase / delete data from a hard disk so
that it can not be recovered (even forensically) ?
Answer: It's a lot more difficult than
you think.
| Method of
pemanent data removal |
Can the data
be retrieved? |
| Deleting |
Yes |
| Deleting from recycle bin |
Yes |
| Format |
Yes |
| Fdisk |
Yes |
| Overwrite |
Sometimes* |
Data Clinic can erase your data by wiping its
contents beyond recovery, destroying its name and dates and
finally removing it from the hard disk. Our data deletion
& elimination service meets and exceeds current standards
for the permanent erasure of digital information (U.S. DOD
5220.22) and uses techniques that stop both software and hardware
recovery tools from restoring the erased data.
Erasing of data will destroy any data from previously
deleted files including those in the Windows Recycle Bin,
unused areas of the disk, and the slack portions of existing
files. We also remove folder structures (folders with all
their subfolders and files), entire drives, "locked"
Windows files, index.dat, the swap file, "cookies"
that track your Internet history, compressed drives &
encrypted drives.
The Data Clinic offer certifiable
electronic data destruction services. We can
guarantee that data destroyed using our processes stays destroyed,
permanently.
What about unerase or forensic software?
- Unerase software, forensic software or any kind of software
will not be able to recover data that we have deleted.
Can data from a Ghosted (or 'imaged') drive be recovered?
- Sometimes, for further details please refer to our Restoring
and recovering ghosted data page
Will organisations such as the police / forensic
investigators be able to recover the data? - No,
your data will be completely unrecoverable by any method.
What data can be securely deleted? - Data
Clinic can wipe any type of data from any type of hard drive
so that the data is never recoverable. We can remove all traces
of files and data from a hard disk, and also the telltale
traces or footprints that the data once existed on the drive.
Do Data Clinic offer Forensic Investigation services?
- Yes we do - access our Data
Forensics section - and once we have deleted
data using our techniques above , we can not get it back either.
Read our article regarding Data
Destruction & Wiping - Best methods & practices
