Files Still On Harddrive

[true_neo]

I know for a fact that even after I delete files from my HD, they are not really gone. They remain deep down on the HD, and can be extracted somehow.
What I wonder is:
Is there a program that can let me see those files, and remove them for good?
will those files be deleted by a format?

[Snee]

There are a few programs out there designed to overwrite, and thus delete, I've even heard of something designed originally by the military to be used int his fashion.
But I haven't felt the need to use something like it myself so I can't give you any examples.

[loz]

Originally posted by true_neo@8 September 2003 - 17:24
will those files be deleted by a format?

Unless you are very very good at a computer I believe they are very hard (near impossible) to get back after formatting, also try Windows Washer for a clean out.

To make sure the files will never come back/ be able to be brought back smash up your motherboard.

[Snee]

loz: "smash up your motherboard"?

I'd go for the HD myself if anything was to be smashed, But that's just me.

[sharedholder]

Active@ Kill Disk - Hard Drive Eraser 1.1

Active@ KillDisk - Hard Drive Eraser is powerful and compact DOS software that allows you to destroy all data on hard and floppy drives completely, excluding any possibility of future recovery of deleted files and folders. It's a hard drive and partition eraser utility.

http://www.killdisk.com/ AND GO TO MY SITE YOU FIND MORE.

[lynx]

You could use something like Norton's 'wipeinfo' before deleting the file, there are various settings from simply writing '00' (or any other selected character) to every byte of the file to 'Government Wipe - DoD 5220.22-M' which is a three pass process. And you can have it repeat the process multiple times if you wish.

But don't forget that when you perform this operation it is only on the latest version of the file, any previous versions which have been replaced may still be intact. The only way to be sure of wiping previously deleted files is to create a new file to occupy the free space on the disk, then run the wipeinfo operation on that file too.

Someone would have to pretty determined to find something after a format, and it would be damned near impossible after the simplest of Norton's 'wipeinfo' operations, I would predict that it would be totally impossible to extract any meaningful information after the 'Government Wipe'.

Edit: or if you are going to erase the whole disk you could indeed use killdisk

[Broken]

Although i can't think of a program that will permently erase a program you uninstall using it's uninstall program there are may that you can use to permently destroy documents by overwriting them numerious times making them unretrivable by even them best programs out there. An example is a program called Window Washer which has an option

<called bleaching"sanitizing a file on a Non-Removable Rigid Disk or a Removable Rigid Disk and overwriting a file 7 times respects the NSA approved seven-pass file erasure method. You can set the number of times to overwrite a file by clicking on the Info button next to the Add Bleach to Wash checkbox."


This can be applied to all items in the recycle bin.

[true_neo]

This killdisk, is this like a more extended format, or can I use that to just delete one file if I want it truly gone?

[sharedholder]

This killdisk, is this like a more extended format

I think so.

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Detects and displays information about all partitions, hard disks and floppy drives currently connected to your computer&nbsp;
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Erasing report is created and can be saved as a file
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Double confirmation excludes possibility of accidental erasing of data on a drive
Very easy to use, utility has intuitive console interface and command line mode for the advanced users&nbsp;
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Utility is so compact that can be placed on bootable diskette and used from it. You do not even need to boot from the hard drive to destroy it&nbsp;
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All above-mentioned
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Data verification could be performed after erasing is completed


Command Line Mode
Utility has command line mode. It allows you to start erase procedure automatically.

By running utility with parameters you can:

Start erasing of all floppy drives, hard drives or all detected drives different types
Cancel confirmation of the erase command
Specify data destruction method
Show or hide error messages (if any)
Example:

This example shows how you can run the utility with command line parameters. It will automatically detect and erase all detected hard drives using DoD 5220.22 M data destruction method (3 passes) with no user interaction.

&nbsp; &nbsp; A:&#092;killdisk.exe –eraseallhdds -erasemethod=2 -noconfirmation
If you&#39;ve placed this line to the "autoexec.bat" and placed the disk into the floppy drive, all you have to do to erase everything on the machine is Turn On the computer

[balamm]

Google > " kick me to fosi " , look for pirates cove > look for 3 fosi links > look for KillDisk Pro 2 . Firewalls may prevent Safe URL from starting the download.

Killdisk wipes the entire drive, not just the master file table. All boot sectors and formatting will be gone. Fdisk and format to restore to like new.