How to Safely Wipe Hard Drives and Solid State Drives

It is possible to recover the data from the old storage drives if they are not wiped properly. You want to get rid of your old hard drives (HDDs) or the solid-state drives. You must ensure all the data from them has been deleted before you have to throw them away. Nobody wants other individuals to get hold of  their personal information and create trouble. Learn to safely wipe the data from the old storage if you are buying yourself a new drive.

Wiping data from the HDD

Three main ways are there to remove all data from the HDD. Hardware, software or manual method.

 The software method is free and effective, but it takes considerable time and won't work on a defective drive. Go to dban.org and download free open source data wiping software found here. The instructions will guide you; these are very easy and simple to use. Be careful and make sure that you are cleaning the right drive. If you are wiping wrong, you will be troublesome and won't be able to get the data back.

 The solution of hardware is far more effective, easy to use and you won't even require a computer for this. You need to purchase a dedicated tool for it, and it will be quite expensive. It may be a viable option for most people. Drive eRazer Ultra will be perfect, but it has a significant up-front cost.

 The nail and hammer method is for those who really want physical proof of their work. Be sure of taking the appropriate safety measures before getting into it.

 Take a nail and hammer, place drives flat on the surface and place the nail in the center of drive and move it half an inch to the right. Now through the drive, hammer the nail, put two more nails through the drive at top left and right corners to make sure that plates inside are well organized.

How to safely wipe the data on SSD

These drives are a little more complicated when it comes to wiping data because of the storage. The easiest way to find your way to the SSD manufactures website and download SSD programs. You also can use an encryption program to code the drive with a complex passphrase. This is going to be difficult to hack because of the 20-word passphrase. You also can fall to the smashing option. Get the hammer, remove the cover and go to town. On the inside of your SSD, there will be several large chips. Drive a nail through them.

KarenMinton is a creative person who has been writing blogs and articles about cyber security. She writes about the latest updates regarding mcafee.com/activate and how it can improve the work experience of users. Her articles have been published in many popular e-magazines, blogs and websites.