Disk Wipe, a free wiping utility for memory cards&partitions

Posted on 21 March, 2012 by Daniel | Permalink 0

Disk Wipe review

 Disk Wipe is a free portable Windows only data wiper to securely remove data from memory storage devices like USB thumbdrives, external hard drives and hard disk partitions. It supports any device formatted with NTFS or FAT, including MP3 players and digital cameras with an internal memory formatted by one of the supported file systems.

Erasing patterns include a one pass wiping with zeroes or random data, Russian GOST P50739-95 (2 passes), British HMG IS5 (3 passes), US DoD 5220.22-M(E) (3 passes), US DoD 5220.22(ECE) (7 passes) and Peter Guttman (35 passes). Its settings comprise volume label naming and thread priority to set up the amount of CPU power you wish to allocate to the data wiping process. There is an online help manual with screenshots but you are not likely to need it.

Secure wiping software Disk Drive

Secure wiping software Disk Drive

After launching Disk Wipe the main window will give you plenty of information about the selected device, like serial number, sector count and master file table info, too technical for the home user but useful for IT departments.

The best feature of Disk Wipe is that it comes with an integrated Hex viewer, this should be standard in all file wipers in my humble opinion, an Hex viewer allows you to see by yourself the hard drive surface to make sure that data has been effectively removed with nothing left behind. During inspection you should only see random characters or zeroes depending on the chosen wiping algorithm, anyone intending to use an Hex editor to check for data remanence will be better off selecting a pattern that writes zeros during the last wiping pass.

Disk Wipe is open source, it can be freely distributed and modified under the terms of the GPL3 license. The program is a small 965Kb download, a good tool to securely erase memory cards and partitions for free.

Visit Disk Wipe homepage

Secure Data Wiping , , , , , ,

Erase files securely with file wiper Zer0

Posted on 20 February, 2012 by Daniel | Permalink 0

Secure file wiper

Zer0 is a simple drag and drop secure file wiping software, in modern computers this tool will make use of multithreading to speed up data wiping. Multicore computers run instructions in parallel avoiding bottlenecks.

You can also erase files using right click, Zer0 only requires a single click to make sure your files will be gone for ever, there are no complicate configurations and no options. Files are erased with what the website lists as “high security wiping algorithm“, after asking further information to the developer he claimed that Zer0 implements the Guttman method (35 overwrites) 5 times and 3 specific processes to make recovery impossible. I was surprised at how quick file wiping is given those specs as it means that files are overwritten over 100 times.

Free file wiper Zer0

Free file wiper Zer0

My only criticism with this software is the lack of information about the wiping pattern, I had to go out of my way and ask about it, when it comes to data erasing, unless you have low security needs, you will want to make sure that everything is perfect and the software uses some well known algorithm. While installing Zer0  you will have to watch out for toolbars before clicking on “next“, but you can’t blame the developer for this as it is optional and everyone has to make a living with their work one way or another.

Visit file wiper Zer0 homepage

Secure Data Wiping , , , , , ,

Securely erase external drives with portable Roadkil’s Disk Wipe

Posted on 14 February, 2012 by Daniel | Permalink 0

External drive wiper

RoadKil’s Disk Wipe is a very small (55Kb) portable utility to quickly wipe a full external hard drive, it will also wipe thumbdrives and memory cards. It is very easy to operate, after launching the program you select the external drive to wipe and if you want to blank it filling it with zeroes or fill it with random data, another setting lets you input the number of times the device must be overwritten.

RoadKil's portable disk wiper

RoadKil's portable disk wiper

This free data wiper doesn’t need administrator rights to run, you can take it with you wherever you go. Do not be fooled by its simplicity and lack of features, this program will make any data stored in a memory stick or external drive irrecoverable. I would use a three pass data wiping in case of an old drive skipping a sector, the second pass might as well go over it. But this would not happen for sure, when a drive has dead sectors the only sure way to destroy all data is physical destruction.

Visit Roadkil’s Disk Wipe homepage

Secure Data Wiping , , , , , ,

Wipe Windows page file and folders with SecureDelete

Posted on 9 January, 2012 by Daniel | Permalink 0

Review TweakNow SecureDelete

TweakNow SecureDelete is a simple easy to use file and folder shredder, it supports standard wiping algorightms, DoD 5220.22M at 7 or 3 passes, this method partially complies with the  National Industrial Security Program (NISP) manual, a US nominal authority to manage standard procedures of private contractors to access classified information, although NISPOM 2007 edition warns that only “degaussing or physical destruction” is acceptable for media sanitization, have into account that Governments work at paranoia level and TweakNow Secure Delete DoD 5220.22M at 7 passes is more than enough to stop unerase utilities including those used by law enforcement.

There is another option to select the Gutmann method to overwrite a file or folder 35 times and another method can be chosen to overwrite data using random characters, manually configurable to as many passes as you like, up to 100 times.

TweakNow SecureDelete freeware eraser

TweakNow SecureDelete freeware eraser

SecureDelete can wipe data stored in the Windows page file at shutdown, the Windows page file is where the operating system stores information when and if it runs out of volatile RAM memory, all kind of confidential data could be found there, including passwords, computer forensics suites are capable of extracting page file data, Windows page file, also known as swap file, can not be manually deleted as it is part of the operating system, this is the reason why it has to be wiped at shutdown or boot up. If you choose to wipe your Windows page file the shutdown process will take much longer than usual, it’s probably best to only enable this option only once in a while and if you have enough RAM in your computer you don’t need to wipe Windows page file as it will be empty.

TweakNow SecureDelete can be used to wipe files in the Recycle Bin, but it would be best not to use the Recycle Bin in the first place, you can disable the Recycle Bin right-clicking on it, choose properties and tick “Remove files immediately when deleted” or use SecureDelete to get rid of the file permanently when you want to erase it, circumventing the Recycle Bin.

Visit TweakNow SecureDelete

Secure Data Wiping , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Erase external drives and partitions with Remo Drive Wipe

Posted on 9 January, 2012 by Daniel | Permalink 0

Remo Drive Wipe review

Remo Drive Wipe is a Windows only hard drive erasing tool that allows you to remove sensitive data from physical or logical drives (a logical drive is a part of a physical hard drive that has been partitioned and functions as a separate drive),  by overwriting it with selected patterns that adjust to international disk wiping standards.

The free version of Remo Drive Wipe allows you to wipe a hard drive using a fast zero overwrite, random overwrite or DoD-5220.22M, the first two methods consist of a single data wipe pass, useful for a quick low security wiping, the third method consists of the US Department of Defense standard for sanitizing classified information, a three data wiping pass, more than enough for the home user with the data unlikely to be ever recovered.

Remo Drive Wipe free edition

Remo Drive Wipe free edition

Remo Drive Wipe is not a DBAN alternative, you should not use this software to wipe the hard drive where you are booting your operating system from, this tool runs from inside Windows and it will inevitably stop working if you erase Windows, leaving data still unerased, there is no security mechanism stopping you from doing this. Remo Drive Wipe is perfect to erase partitions, external hard drives and USB thumbdrives but not your main operating system.

For those dealing with data where the opponent can invest a fantastic amount of time and money studying the magnetic fields on the disk platter surface, state sponsored adversaries in search of trade or military secrets, Remo Drive Wipe has a paid for version of its software that includes the NATO data wiping pattern, US Navy NAVSO P-5239-26, Verschlusssache IT Richtlinien (VSITR) method as defined by the German Federal Office for Information Security and a paranoid combination of Peter Gutmann plus the DoD-5220.22M data wiping method, Remo Drive Wipe paid for version helps IT administrators justify to their employers that they are using a strong standard data wiping method to destroy information and cover themselves from any legal liability.

Visit Remo Drive Wipe homepage

Other Data Erasing , , , , , , ,

Optimize your computer, encrypt files and wipe data with ToolWiz Care

Posted on 2 January, 2012 by Daniel | Permalink 0

All-in-one Windows junk cleaner

ToolWiz Care is a full computer optimizer suite that includes a registry cleaner, secure file wiping, Windows junk cleaner ( taking in Internet history and cache), hard disk defragger, file splitter, password generator, file encryption and file undelete. ToolWiz Care has over 40 powerful tools to speed up your computer getting rid of the junk that clogs it up and tweak installed programs, its combination of security tools and file cleaning should make this program a must have for anyone who cares about personal privacy and keeping the computer running smooth.

My only criticism is that once you start an operation, this can not be cancelled, for example, I created a 50GB encrypted virtual drive and when I realised it would take too long I had to wait a good fifteen minutes until it finished. There is a software uninstaller but it won’t help you to get rid of hard to go programs, its main advantage is that you won’t have to go into Windows Control Panel and that it gives you very detailed information on everything installed in your computer, like Internet addons and Windows packages that can be individually disabled.

ToolWiz Care encrypted safe creation

ToolWiz Care encrypted safe creation

Make sure to change the default settings (Clean up settings tab) to instruct this program to securely wipe your temporary files 5 times to stop undelete applications from recovering them, combining ToolWiz Care cleaning and data encryption capabilities should be enough for most users,  you are not likely to need anything else to keep your computer security and personal privacy at bay, if you did ToolWiz Care includes direct download links (Apps Manager>Recommended software) to popular free alternative programs to default Windows software, like antivirus (Avast, Avira), anti-malware (Spybot, Malwarebytes), Instant Messenger (Skype), Internet browser (Firefox, Opera), etc.

ToolWiz Care uninstall software

ToolWiz Care uninstall software

It is amazing that this program is freeware, ToolWiz Care matches paid for tools like CyberScrub and is a decent alternative to CCleaner and Advanced System Care. I would recommend it for advanced and beginner users alike, not only you get rid of junk files, securely wipe data and can create encrypted virtual drives using a single tool, ToolWiz Care also analyses your computer showing accurate information about all the processes going on (CPU temperature, RAM, Startup report, etc) which will help you troubleshoot any problems.

The cherry on the cake has to be the integrated “Eyes Care” utility that optionally warns users to take a break from their computer after X time.

Visit ToolWiz Care homepage

Other Data Erasing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Clean up a Mac OS X hard drive with MacCleaning

Posted on 29 December, 2011 by Daniel | Permalink 0

How to get rid of junk in MAC OS

 Mac computers, like Windows, will get cluttered with needless and redundant files over the time, you can speed up a Mac computer running slowly getting rid of the junk. MacCleaning is a free application that will help you erase needless data (mainly logs). After installation a bar chart in the Menu bar will display amount of free disk space left, including attached devices, the app will automatically warn you if you have less than 10% of free disk space left.

A click on the bar chart lets you access MacCleaning preferences from where you can choose to clean Mac OS X system cache, user cache, system logs, user logs, user download folder and trash. After the redundant files have been erased you are told the number of cleaned items and recovered space, MacCleaning can be set up to automatically erase the downloads folder and trash can.

Free computer junk cleaner MacCleaning

Free computer junk cleaner MacCleaning

A paid version of this app lets you set up a custom disk space value alarm and eject mounted drives with a single click, it doesn’t seem that the features are worth paying for it, and as for the free app, it doesn’t do a thorough job at cleaning all Mac OS X junk files, there will still be plenty of temporary files left from external applications in your hard drive, but you can use MacCleaning as a hard drive space monitor and for mild junk file cleaning.

If you need a serious Mac OS X junk file cleaner, I would advise you MacPaw CleanMyPC, but it isn’t free.

Visit MacCleaning homepage

Other Data Erasing , , , , , , , , , ,

Lowvel erases external hard disks and memory cards zero-filling them

Posted on 13 November, 2011 by Daniel | Permalink 0

Zero fill hard disk

Lowvel is a small Windows utility (630Kb) to carry out a low level format of any external device plugged into your computer, like a USB memory card, Firewire Solid State Drive or a conventional external hard disk, Low level formatting is also known as zeroing a disk, filling a hard disk with the character 0 to make sure that all bytes have been overwritten leaving nothing behind for data recovery software to “unerase”, data recovery software counts on files not having been overwritten yet.

Zero fill hard disk with Lowvel

Zero fill hard disk with Lowvel

After installing Lowvel in your hard disk it will detect any external hard disk or USB thumbdrive, select them using the drop down menu and a click on the skull button with word “Start“, that will show you the hard disk model, serial number and capacity, another click on the “Erase” button will start zero-filling the selected device, aka low level format.

This tool is suitable to erase external devices, it can not erase single files, the hard disk where it has been installed, i.e. system disk, can be erased but not securely as Lowvel needs the operating system to run and once the OS ceases to exist the software will stop working, be careful not to select the system disk by accident.

If the files you are going to erase are in use by the operating system (e.g. open) those files will not be erased, a coloured disk map in Lowlev lets you watch the zero filling process with the colour black indicating erased sectors, cyan colour indicating data being erased and red colour indicating that there is a bad sector. A status bar indicates how long there is left to finish the operation,  it is possible to stop the process in the middle but any data that has already been erased is irrecoverable.

An advantage of a low level format is that it helps to detect bad sectors because everything will be overwritten with zeros and the hard disk will be forced to reallocate those bad sectors. Note that zero-filling an SSD disk that is not TRIM capable will take a long time as those disks can not erase data blocks in advance.

Visit Lowvel homepage

Other Data Erasing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to permanently delete files from your computer

Posted on 7 September, 2011 by Daniel | Permalink 0

Get rid of computer files for ever

There are many free tools, aka data recovery software, able to make visible again files you have previously deleted, including data that appears to have vanished after emptying the Recycle Bin. Using the keys “Shift +Delete” in Windows to bypass the Recycle Bin will still make those files recoverable, all that Windows does when erasing a file is to delete the records indicating the operating system where the file is located, this makes it invisible to users, but physically, the data, stored on its binary form, still exists.

The only way to make sure that your files have been permanently erased is by overwriting the files you want to get rid of with other data on top by using specialist data wiping software, typical file shredding sofware will use standard schemes like the US Department of Defense DoD 5220.22-M (3 passes), US Department of Defense DoD 5220.22-M(ECE) (7 passes), Peter Gutmann (35 passes), the latter being more of a gimmick that will consume your time and not a real need, to stop data recovery software used by mom-and-pop shops a single overwrite pass with random data will be enough, to stop expensive hardware recovery tools used by law enforcement agencies and corporations use DoD 5220.22 (7 passes).

Secure eraser BCWipe taskmanager

Secure eraser BCWipe taskmanager

You should understand what when you view a document in your computer, Windows will create temporary files of that document all over the operating system, these temporary files consist of back up copies in case of a computer crash or files created for quick access when you run out of RAM memory in the swap file (aka page file), many temporary files are erased by Windows but none of them is securely erased, thus why it is important that good data wiping software includes some form of slack space wiping tool and swap file wiping, when an opponent is unable to recover an overwritten file he will try to discover an old copy in Windows temporary folders or System Restore.

Formatting a hard disk will not erase data

All kind of tracks and confidential data is spread all over your hard disk during the course of its use, like Internet browsing history, if you plan on disposing of the computer, you have no choice but to completely wipe the whole operating system, formatting it is no different from sending the files to the Recycle Bin, to make sure nothing can be recovered everything must be overwritten on top using specialist software.

PCConfidential secure data wiping software

PCConfidential secure data wiping software

Some data wiping algorithms fill the last wiping pass with zeroes, aka zeroing the disk, this way you can use an Hex editor to view the hard disk contents, when you do it all that should show is the character “0″, this is proof that the software has done its job properly and no hard disk sector has been skipped, if something else other than a “0″ is visible, something has gone wrong.

Sanitizing computer data is time consuming, you can save yourself time encrypting the whole hard disk and all of its contents with something like DiskCryptor, if you are not willing to do it then schedule your data wiping software to automatically wipe your hard disk every day or when you log on/off.

Tools to permanently erase files

  • To wipe the whole hard disk including operating system, use DBAN
  • To wipe single files and slack hard disk space use Eraser (Free) or BCWipe (commercial)
Secure Data Wiping , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Clean Windows and delete junk files with Weeny Free Cleaner

Posted on 2 September, 2011 by Daniel | Permalink 0

Windows system cleaner

Weeny Free Cleaner is an all-round junk files cleaning software to get rid of Windows temporary files that most users are not even aware have been left behind, the software is composed of a Windows System Cleaner, Internet Browser Cleaner, Windows Registry Cleaner and Disk Drive Cleaner, each section is clearly marked and it has its own settings.

A basic system tweaker, shortcut fixer and secure file deletion are also included, the secure deletion can wipe individual files and folders using a 3 overwrite pass and a labelled “NSA Standard” overwrites selected data with 7 passes.

Weeny Free Cleaner erases Internet browser traces

Weeny Free Cleaner erases Internet browser traces

Internet browser history, cookies, index.dat and cache can all be deleted with a single click, if you want to save specific cookies from deletion they can be added to an exception list, but only Internet Explorer and Firefox are supported. The embedded Windows registry cleaner will get rid of obsolete Registry keys that clog up the computer slowing it down over the time.

Weeny Free Cleaner erases Windows Prefetch files, log files, flash cookies, temporary files, Recycle Bin and a few other places, this cleaner can erase temporary files from non Windows applications, like Winrar, Adobe and ACDSee but it appears that this is mostly reduced to erasing the “Recent file list” leaving behind logs and temp files, clearly not enough for privacy.

I found this Windows System cleaner to be adequate for a freeware, without any WOW factor, most paid for products beat it in features and have a more user friendly interface, Weeny Free Cleaner will do a good job for those requiring light cleaning once in a while and are not at risk of someone using undelete software to recover previously erased temporary files, its best feature is probably the secure file and folder overwriting.

The software will contact Installmonetizer online when you install it, a company helping developers monetize their free software by bundling sponsored applications, like toolbars, the good news is that you can reject it by clicking on decline.

Visit Weeny Free Cleaner homepage

Note:  Make sure to read the screen during installation to stop adware being installed in your computer, also note that Windows temporary files are not overwritten.

Other Data Erasing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,