![]() ![]() Read on to find out more about why you might need to wipe your device and how to do it, including helpful tools suitable for various operating systems. We’ve covered securely erasing internal memory devices in-depth before, but in this post, we’ll be delving into how to tackle external devices. It’s a good idea to make sure you know how to securely erase external devices, like: Just as devices like your computer and phone are subject to data theft, so are your external storage devices. In any of these cases, you might need to ensure that sensitive data is completely wiped and cannot be recovered by any means. Taking action without the advice or assistance of an expert could reduce your odds of prevailing in litigation.Need to free up space on an external storage device, or you want to get rid of some sensitive information? Perhaps you’re disposing of a device, selling it, or simply loaning it out. A legitimate digital forensics investigation operates under strict guidelines and procedures to ensure that all existing data is found, preserved, and that any data recovered is admissible in court or other legal proceedings. In most cases pertaining to eDiscovery and the securing of digital evidence, an extensive data recovery operation alone may not be sufficient for use in legal proceedings. (A step-by-step guide on how to use PhotoRec can be found here.) If your interest in recovering lost data pertains to a potential or pending litigation, you should seek advice from a digital forensics expert immediately. While PhotoRec is an excellent tool, many users may find it difficult to use. And even more good news: PhotoRec is supported by all popular operating systems (Windows, Linux, & Mac OS)! ![]() Despite its misleading name, PhotoRec can recover more than just lost photos it can recover other lost files including video, audio, text documents, program files, archives, databases, and more from hard disks, CD-ROMs, and flash memory drives. If ever you find yourself in a situation that requires extensive data recovery, I recommend using a free data recovery software called PhotoRec. ![]() A photo or video recovery software, for example, will not be able to recover text documents, spreadsheets, and other file types. Not all data recovery programs are capable of recovering every file type. Recovering the data can be tricky, however, as it requires the use of special software to ‘carve out’ and restore the recoverable data. Whether or not my analogy helps your understanding, the important detail is that most of the data on a hard drive can be recovered in the event of an accidental or intentional format. After a hard drive has been formatted, the ‘evicted residents’ appear gone, but the memory of those residents still exist until their ‘apartment units’ are leased to a ‘new resident.’ Formatting a hard drive is like sending out eviction notices to all of the residents en masse. The data on your hard drive are like residents of those addresses. When new data takes the place of old data, we call it “overwriting,” which is the action that is responsible for true and absolute data loss.Īn easier way to understand this is to imagine the hard drive as a large apartment complex and each pointer as a residential address. Once the partition table is cleared or rebuilt, it is then ready to accept new data in place of where the old data used to be. These pointers are necessary for your computer’s operating system to be able to read and understand the data so that you can properly access your files. When you choose to format a hard drive, you are essentially only removing the pointers to the data as the partition table is either cleared or rebuilt. ![]() Otherwise, formatting a hard drive using the quick format option (or an earlier version of Windows) will not actually erase all of its stored data. However, if you are using Windows Vista or later, and your intention is to completely erase your data, then the alternative option-a full format-would be more thorough. If you have ever had experience formatting hard drives and other digital storage media, you might agree that performing a format with the default “quick format” option selected is more convenient than the alternative, which takes at least three times longer to complete. Depending on the methods used to format your hard drive, your data may not actually be gone. ![]()
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