Re: Anyone know of a free Gutmann file deletion tool for Windows which can run from removable media?

On 6/14/06, Simson Garfinkel <simsong@acm.org> wrote:
> Hi. For starters, I strongly advise you not to use the Gutmann
> patterns. They're overkill, they take up too much time, and as a
> result, many people don't sanitize media that they should be sanitizing.
>
> DBAN works really well (dban.sourceforge.net).
> Eraser also works really well. I don't understand your concern that
> "it made registry changes and required a reboot."
>
> if you are using Windows Professional (2000 or XP), you can just use
> CIPHER.EXE. What's wrong with that?

Hi Simson!

I'm curious about your thoughts on data recovery, given a scenario in
which an entire drive has been wiped and verified?  For example, using
DBAN with a single pass write and verify?  I occasionally hear
comments like "With an electron microscope..." and "By changing the
angle of the read/write heads..." in regards to data recovery after
this type of wiping operation, but I have a healthy amount of
skepticism given that I know of no specific examples nor have I seen
this done myself.

Essentially, I'm wondering if you feel there is any benefit to *any*
type of wiping operation other than a single pass across the entire
drive with verification, or would that be a waste of time?