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Computer Related Question

S

Scat

Well-Known Member
I just picked up a new computer and want to give my old one to a friend. My question is, I have lots of personal information on the old computer such as bank account numbers, 401k information, past taxes, passwords, etc. and want to make sure all of this is removed. Obviously the hard drive needs to remain formatted for my friend to use it so simply erasing (f-disk?) the hard drive won't work.

Any suggestions? I can remove bookmarked pages and specific software but is there anything scrubs away past keystrokes and such? I've used both IE and GC as web browsers if that makes any difference.
 
Find the utility disk that came with the hard drive...if you built it, or the one that came with the computer and "write zeros" to the drive.
 
VINYLONE said:
Find the utility disk that came with the hard drive...if you built it, or the one that came with the computer and "write zeros" to the drive.
Click to expand...

I've had the thing for years. I wouldn't even know where to look for the utility disk if I even have it still. Thanks for the advice however. I'll see if it is kicking around here someplace.

Anybody else? It seems when it comes to computers there are a dozen different ways to accomplish most tasks. :-)
 
Marcus said:
I've had the thing for years. I wouldn't even know where to look for the utility disk if I even have it still. Thanks for the advice however. I'll see if it is kicking around here someplace.

Anybody else? It seems when it comes to computers there are a dozen different ways to accomplish most tasks. :-)
Click to expand...

You can always open the computer up and see what kind of HD it has and then just go to that manu's website and find the appropriate software.

Or you can try:

https://www.killdisk.com/
 
download CCleaner. It does multiple things, including disc overwriting and it is a very small package and free.

https://www.piriform.com/
 
Marcus said:
I already have piriform but as I understand it, any information that piriform cleans up can still be recovered
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The newest version gives you options as to overwrites. Also keystrokes are not automatically collected typically without a keystroke logger. I would go through and delete files, folders, and uninstall programs as necessary and then uninstall explorer and chrome or whatever your browsers are, then run ccleaner with 35 pass (gutman) overwrite. Uninstalling your browsers releases the sectors they used to collect data and then the overwrite removes all data there.

Here is some info on whether the info can be recovered:

The National Bureau of Economic Research criticized Gutmann's claim that intelligence agencies are likely to be able to read overwritten data.[3] There is yet no published evidence as to intelligence agencies' ability to recover files whose sectors have been overwritten, although published Government security procedures clearly consider an overwritten disk to still be sensitive.[4]
Companies specializing in recovery of damaged media (e.g., media damaged by fire, water or otherwise) cannot recover completely overwritten files. No private data recovery company currently claims that it can reconstruct completely overwritten data.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutmann_method

I have given away a few computers and used this method and am confident that it has removed my personal info. Just my 2 cents.
 
Remove Hard Drive break it into 2000 pieces and insert new hard drive (then install OS, Driveres, Ect) Problem Solved
 
Anything you've done online is retrievable. I wouldn't worry too much about a breach unless your buddy really knows what he is doing though.
 
Duck Rodgers said:
Anything you've done online is retrievable.
Click to expand...

I've heard this before. In fact, there is a company here in Utah that makes a device that plugs into a USB port that can retrieve crap that you did online 10 years ago. Supposedly it is the same device law enforcement uses.
 
LogGrad98 said:
The newest version gives you options as to overwrites. Also keystrokes are not automatically collected typically without a keystroke logger. I would go through and delete files, folders, and uninstall programs as necessary and then uninstall explorer and chrome or whatever your browsers are, then run ccleaner with 35 pass (gutman) overwrite. Uninstalling your browsers releases the sectors they used to collect data and then the overwrite removes all data there.

Here is some info on whether the info can be recovered:

The National Bureau of Economic Research criticized Gutmann's claim that intelligence agencies are likely to be able to read overwritten data.[3] There is yet no published evidence as to intelligence agencies' ability to recover files whose sectors have been overwritten, although published Government security procedures clearly consider an overwritten disk to still be sensitive.[4]
Companies specializing in recovery of damaged media (e.g., media damaged by fire, water or otherwise) cannot recover completely overwritten files. No private data recovery company currently claims that it can reconstruct completely overwritten data.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutmann_method

I have given away a few computers and used this method and am confident that it has removed my personal info. Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

I tried this method and interestingly enough, deleteing Explorer is a bitch. It is intertwined with a dozen other applications. I've been able to roll it back to version 6 but can't delete it beyond that point. Any suggestions?
 
I believe IE is native, you can't uninstall it completely. Why aren't you just formatting the drive and reinstalling Windows?
 
Uninstalling Explorer depends on your OS, the service packs installed, and the version of Explorer and whether or not is has been upgraded or was the original version installed. It can still be uninstalled, except if you have Win Xp SP 3. Then you have to roll it back to SP 2 to uninstall. On Microsoft's website there are several support topics on unistalling various versions of Explorer. Here is one for Explorer 7:

https://support.microsoft.com/kb/927177

And I can understand not wanting to do a full re-install of the operating system. I had an older computer and no longer had any discs associated. Since Windows was obviously pre-installed by the manufacturer, I did not have a copy of it to reinstall and I would not want to buy a copy just to erase data. If you trust the person you are giving it to, you will probably be fine using any of the file erasing software talked about in this thread and uninstalling, or rolling back as far as you can, your browsers before over-writing blank disc space. Unless your friend is VERY user savvy with the right software and/or hardware it will be nigh impossible for him to recover any info if you deal with it this way. And using a utility like CCleaner will also empty your caches and other file-storage locations to help clean up your internet browsing tracks.
 
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