WIPEDISK
WHAT IT DOES: WipeDisk cleans your hard drive of data residue that remains
after files are deleted. It's not
strong enough to protect you from an FBI/Gov search for evidence. Rather, it's to protect you from having
your sensitive personal information uncovered by the skills of the average
hacker, should you sell your old computer, let's say.
QUICK START
INSTRUCTIONS: Type
a drive letter in the Drive:\Path box, click Initialize, click Go
and let it run.
- Please keep this help file in the same folder you copy the executable to.
-- enjoy!
EXTENDED INSTRUCTIONS
and NOTES:
WipeDisk does not delete files. The issue of importance is that data
remains intact on your hard drive after files are deleted. This data can be read and exploited by
skilled individuals of average intelligence and malicious intent. Wipedisk seeks to erase this data
'residue'.
For most effective use (not required):
1.) delete all your sensitive files, 2.) disable Windows Virtual memory (no
Paging File) to allow access to this portion of the disk, and 3.) format any
drives that do not have data that you wish to preserve. Keep in mind that WipeDisk needs
an Operating System (OS) to operate, so do not format the drive that has the
OS! ;-) Wipedisk does not
utilize any special access to low levels of the OS. It simply writes out enough large files to fill your
disk: Files full of 1s, 0s, or random bits. It performs up to 7 passes of this operation.
Drive:\Path box: you can specify a work directory. If the directory doesn't
exist, it will be created. If only
a drive letter is given, a directory having a random name will be generated/created.
Pass Checkboxes: Select which passes you would like to activate. The first writes zeros, 2nd, ones, 3
thru 6 are random bits, and the 7th is zeroes again. This 7th pass leaves the drive looking like it was simply
formatted. You may choose any combination: 2, 3, 4 and 7...etc. Additionally, you may change your
selections while running, unless that number pass has already begun. (Ie: unchecking '3' after pass 3 has
begun will not halt pass 3.)
FreeSpace Box: Just reports unallocated free space on the drive.
Wipe Progress Boxes have simple progress information
that is hopefully self-explanatory.
Lower Control Buttons such as Go, Pause, Resume
and Stop all perform as labeled.
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United States
Department of Defense Standard 5220.22-M The National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual, issued to
the US Army, Navy, Air Force, and other US government agencies specifies
standards for the clearing, and sanitizing of data classified confidential,
secret, and top secret. This
standard specifies that data may be cleared by writing any bit pattern to the
entire disk once. Disks are
sanitized by writing a different bit pattern to the disk on each of three
passes.
Wipedisk -- by default -- perfoms 7 passes,
exceeding the DoD standard. However, products
superior to Wipedisk do exist. WipeDisk, for example, makes no attempt to erase MFT
metadata and persistent filenames, and all kinds of deep dark things buried in
the OS that Microsoft never told you about...things that you can be held
accountable for in a court of law.
CREDITS: God, who makes all things
possible and provides everything, too.