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Old computer disposal, public tip
sevenlayermuddle:
--- Quote from: Bowdon on June 02, 2019, 01:35:17 PM ---As I was reading the thread I just had a thought :idea:
The more ssd's are becoming a thing, what would be the best way to destroy an ssd?
I know we could smash it, but would a powerful magnet to the same job to erase data?
--- End quote ---
Good point.
I believe (may be wrong) that flash storage hardware chips often have a hardware erase cycle, that reliably erases all contents. Trouble is, I don’t know if common OS’s provide a UI to activate it, or what to do if the hardware is already broken and too damaged to erase itself.
Simply overwriting the old data may not actually erase all contents owing to “wear levelling” algorithms used by flash. My own strategy is to avoid putting sensitive data on USB sticks in the first place, and to enable full disk encryption for SSDs.
By encrypting it, I can worry less about whether it is fully deleted, as long the the encryption keys are gone. I have no doubt that powerful nation-state agencies exist, with sinister expertise and tools, that could break the encryption (in my case Apple’s encryption). But I do doubt whether these agencies would go to the trouble and expense of hacking my data, when there are far more rewarding targets - unpopular heads of state, criminals, terrorists, etc. :)
burakkucat:
--- Quote from: Bowdon on June 02, 2019, 01:35:17 PM ---I know we could smash it, but would a powerful magnet to the same job to erase data?
--- End quote ---
I would suggest putting the SSD into a glass bowl, along with a small amount of water, and then giving the contents a "blast" at full power in a microwave oven.
Another alternative would be to dangle the SSD from a securely earthed wire in the arc-over range of a Wimshurst machine or a Van de Graaff generator. :angel:
niemand:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_(computing)
tickmike:
FreeCycle is a good way of getting rid of stuff.
You can wipe any disk with DBAN https://dban.org/ to military spec.
As I am still building my own house I have built into it lots of 'Junk' including about 20 hard drives under floors, electronic components, pcb's, books, mags, and built stuff into Box beams, behind partitions etc.
I also include news papers in odd places so people in the future can find them.
There are going to be some surprised people in the future. ;D
sevenlayermuddle:
--- Quote from: tickmike on June 03, 2019, 10:21:40 AM ---to military spec.
--- End quote ---
I’m not sure all militaries would agree. I once worked, briefly, on a highly secure project. The development process was closely audited by the customer so when it came time to replace a disk, we had to courier the old drive off for them to ‘sanitise’ to their satisfaction. A few weeks later they returned our disk, with the individual platters packaged separately from the disk, having bad the magnetic coating ground off completely.
I daresay they overwrote the data and degaussed it thoroughly before grinding, but at that time at least (a few decades ago) grinding of platters seemed to be also a necessary final step. :)
Not sure about dban as I can’t open that link (temporary problem, i suspect) but one problem with attempting to trash a disk just by overwriting it is, any data that is in defective and remapped sectors may not be overwritten, but could still contain data that could be recovered. With SSDs there is the additional problem of wear levelling algorithms. Again though, unless you are a seriously wanted criminal, or head of state engaged in international conflict, or a journalist related to such topics, you probably needn’t worry too much.
CarlIT’s ‘trim’ link seems the way to go for SSDs, but not sure if that would work if the drive was already ‘dead’ and unresponsive to the UI, with the possibility of data remaining in the individual chips within?
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