Simply erasing all the data on your hard drive and formatting it is not enough security. You can spend hours going through your hard drive and deleting all the files and documents you want, but using the delete key on your keyboard will only remove the shortcuts to the files making them invisible to users. Deleted files still reside on the hard drive and a quick Google search will show many options for system recovery software will allow anyone to reinstate that data.
Formatting the hard drive is a bit more secure than simply erasing the files. Formatting a disk does not erase the data on the disk, only the address tables. It makes it much more difficult to recover the files. However a computer specialist would be able to recover most or all the data that was on the disk before the reformat.
For some businesses and individual users, a disk format may be something you consider secure enough, depending, of course, on the type of data and information you saved to your computer. As long as it is understood that formatting is not a 100 percent secure way to completely remove all data from your computer, then you are able to make the choice between formatting and even more secure methods. If you have decided a disk format is a good choice, at the very least to do a full format rather than a quick format.
BlackBag Data offers Company Wipe and Company Shred for all drive types, to include platter drives, SSD drives, NVMe drives, M.2 drives, USB flash drives, and SD / media cards.
<aside> <img src="/icons/home_gray.svg" alt="/icons/home_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Home Solution (your garage) FREE
You could use drills, torches, hammers, hydraulic presses, vices, etc. to perform some form of home drive destruction. Just be sure to properly dispose of the residual material
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<aside> <img src="/icons/document_gray.svg" alt="/icons/document_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Company Wipe $7 / drive
When sourcing a company to perform drive wiping, look for a credentialed company that will provide certification documentation upon completion
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<aside> <img src="/icons/window_gray.svg" alt="/icons/window_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Software (your computer) FREE
Not all drive wiping software is created equal. If you take this approach, be sure to utilize software from a reputable source that can provide drive wiping certification
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<aside> <img src="/icons/skip-forward_gray.svg" alt="/icons/skip-forward_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Company Shred $9 / drive
As with a company wipe, for physical shredding, look for a credentialed company that will provide certification documentation upon completion
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