Physically destroying hard drive data

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

I have a bunch of old obsolete hard drives with somewhat sensitive
information on them I want to physically destroy and put in the
landfill.

Would shooting a couple .30 cal bullets through the hard drives
(being sure to penetrate the platters rather than just the outside
edges) prevent black hat hackers from recovering the data? I'd imagine
some 3-letter government agency could recover some of the data by
working on the holy platters, but I'm not worried about that, just
about CC numbers and stuff.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

The question is, can anything be done with warped platters with a
bullet hole through them? Is there some sort of hand-held tool that
would read any remaining data even if the platter couldn't be spun?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

I know security wipes will work, but it's a lot of hard drives. Some
are IDE, some are SCSI, plus it takes hours to securely wipe each one.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

Find a local welder, a few minutes under the flame should melt them.

<control_z@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1121448213.197637.40150@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> I have a bunch of old obsolete hard drives with somewhat sensitive
> information on them I want to physically destroy and put in the
> landfill.
>
> Would shooting a couple .30 cal bullets through the hard drives
> (being sure to penetrate the platters rather than just the outside
> edges) prevent black hat hackers from recovering the data? I'd imagine
> some 3-letter government agency could recover some of the data by
> working on the holy platters, but I'm not worried about that, just
> about CC numbers and stuff.
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

You are worrying way too much about protecting your credit card
numbers. Everyone waitress, gas station operator, and probably every
other bad guy on earth already has your numbers, they just haven't
gotten around to using them yet. So if that is all you are worrying
about, just smash 'em up and drive on.

Cheers

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

On 15 Jul 2005 12:01:12 -0700, control_z@hotmail.com wrote:

>
> The question is, can anything be done with warped platters with a
>bullet hole through them? Is there some sort of hand-held tool that
>would read any remaining data even if the platter couldn't be spun?

Electron Scanning Microscope can still read the magnetic )'s and 1's
on the unblemished surface. Even if the platter's badly warped and
full of holes, enough data would survive for the most determined party
to read your disks and reconstruct incriminating data.

Smashing them to pieces and dissolving them in acid makes the data
next to impossible to trace.

If you really are paranoid, buy a bunch of older hard drives (a single
lot of non working disks) off eBay and mix the platter remains
together. A lot of data that somehow survives the destruction
wouldn't be yours to begin with.
--
When you hear the toilet flush, and hear the words "uh oh", it's already
too late. - by anonymous Mother in Austin, TX
To reply, replace digi.mon with phreaker.net

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

control_z@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> I have a bunch of old obsolete hard drives with somewhat sensitive
> information on them I want to physically destroy and put in the
> landfill.
>
> Would shooting a couple .30 cal bullets through the hard drives
> (being sure to penetrate the platters rather than just the outside
> edges) prevent black hat hackers from recovering the data? I'd imagine
> some 3-letter government agency could recover some of the data by
> working on the holy platters, but I'm not worried about that, just
> about CC numbers and stuff.

Just strip the drive and smash the platters with a heavy hammer.

Then dissolve the platters in acid.

I hate to admit it, but even I could not recover these.


Odie
--
Retrodata
www.retrodata.co.uk
Globally Local Data Recovery Experts

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

On Fri, 15 Jul 2005 18:40:32 +0100, Odie Ferrous
<odie_ferrous@hotmail.com> wrote:

>Just strip the drive and smash the platters with a heavy hammer.
>
>Then dissolve the platters in acid.
>
>I hate to admit it, but even I could not recover these.

I agree. With the right tools (usually tiny Torx bits) any hard
drives can be dismantled to the platters. And for cheap acid, get a 2
liter Coke and soak the platters in it for a few days or so. The acid
there are known to eat a nail away in a day.

Failing that if you live on a large property or know someone who does,
bury the platters in random location. A farm would help a lot, just
toss 'em under the plow as you drive the tractor along. ^_^
--
When you hear the toilet flush, and hear the words "uh oh", it's already
too late. - by anonymous Mother in Austin, TX
To reply, replace digi.mon with phreaker.net

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

A colleague of mine does some contract work for the Dept. of Defence. A
while ago they had to dispose of some high security PCs, DoD required
them to chop the drives up with an axe, not sure what they had to do
with the chopped remains.
My idea would be, if you could get access to each platter, hit them
with an orbital sander until all the coating is gone, then chop the
platters up with an axe.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

<control_z@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1121454072.134185.191970@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> I know security wipes will work, but it's a lot of hard drives. Some
> are IDE, some are SCSI, plus it takes hours to securely wipe each one.

Turn the drives upside down and give one good wack with a 3lb hammer. I bet
you could one every two seconds. Ya can't reload that fast.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

<control_z@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1121451298.000048.289710@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> The question is, can anything be done with warped platters with a
> bullet hole through them? Is there some sort of hand-held tool that
> would read any remaining data even if the platter couldn't be spun?

No. You would have to use some kind of electron(?) microscope to image the
drive.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

Impmon wrote:

> On 15 Jul 2005 12:01:12 -0700, control_z@hotmail.com wrote:
>
>>
>> The question is, can anything be done with warped platters with a
>>bullet hole through them? Is there some sort of hand-held tool that
>>would read any remaining data even if the platter couldn't be spun?
>
> Electron Scanning Microscope can still read the magnetic )'s and 1's
> on the unblemished surface.

Actually, SEM would probably wipe the drive real good. The tool that reads
the numbers atom by atom is a Scanning Tunnelling Microscope. And it is
most assuredly _not_ "some sort of hand held tool".

> Even if the platter's badly warped and
> full of holes, enough data would survive for the most determined party
> to read your disks and reconstruct incriminating data.
>
> Smashing them to pieces and dissolving them in acid makes the data
> next to impossible to trace.

If you're that paranoid, melt them down in an induction furnace--you get a
double-whammy, high intensity oscillating magnetic field and they're
physically melted into slag. _Nobody_ is going to recover that.

> If you really are paranoid, buy a bunch of older hard drives (a single
> lot of non working disks) off eBay and mix the platter remains
> together. A lot of data that somehow survives the destruction
> wouldn't be yours to begin with.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

control_z@hotmail.com wrote:

> I have a bunch of old obsolete hard drives with somewhat sensitive
> information on them I want to physically destroy and put in the landfill.
>
> Would shooting a couple .30 cal bullets through the hard drives
> (being sure to penetrate the platters rather than just the outside
> edges) prevent black hat hackers from recovering the data? I'd
> imagine some 3-letter government agency could recover some
> of the data by working on the holy platters, but I'm not worried
> about that, just about CC numbers and stuff.

Mindless paranoia, any decent security wipe will be fine.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

Previously Odie Ferrous <odie_ferrous@hotmail.com> wrote:
> control_z@hotmail.com wrote:
>>
>> I have a bunch of old obsolete hard drives with somewhat sensitive
>> information on them I want to physically destroy and put in the
>> landfill.
>>
>> Would shooting a couple .30 cal bullets through the hard drives
>> (being sure to penetrate the platters rather than just the outside
>> edges) prevent black hat hackers from recovering the data? I'd imagine
>> some 3-letter government agency could recover some of the data by
>> working on the holy platters, but I'm not worried about that, just
>> about CC numbers and stuff.

> Just strip the drive and smash the platters with a heavy hammer.

> Then dissolve the platters in acid.

> I hate to admit it, but even I could not recover these.

So you could recover if the acid is left out? ;-)=)

Arno

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

Previously control_z@hotmail.com wrote:

> I have a bunch of old obsolete hard drives with somewhat sensitive
> information on them I want to physically destroy and put in the
> landfill.

> Would shooting a couple .30 cal bullets through the hard drives
> (being sure to penetrate the platters rather than just the outside
> edges) prevent black hat hackers from recovering the data? I'd imagine
> some 3-letter government agency could recover some of the data by
> working on the holy platters, but I'm not worried about that, just
> about CC numbers and stuff.

Far easier: Open the HDD, remove the platters and just bend them.
That makes it already extremely expensive and maybe impossible
for most practical purposes to recover anything.

If you are worried enough you can also blowtorch the platters, which
makes recovery completely impossible (in the physically strong sense),
since above a certain temperature the magnetisation is completely and
irretrivably lost.

Not opening the disk is risky, since you actually may fail to damage
all platters, even with the .30 bullets.

Arno

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

Arno Wagner wrote:

> Previously control_z@hotmail.com wrote:
>
>> I have a bunch of old obsolete hard drives with somewhat sensitive
>> information on them I want to physically destroy and put in the
>> landfill.
>
>> Would shooting a couple .30 cal bullets through the hard drives
>> (being sure to penetrate the platters rather than just the outside
>> edges) prevent black hat hackers from recovering the data? I'd imagine
>> some 3-letter government agency could recover some of the data by
>> working on the holy platters, but I'm not worried about that, just
>> about CC numbers and stuff.
>
> Far easier: Open the HDD, remove the platters and just bend them.
> That makes it already extremely expensive and maybe impossible
> for most practical purposes to recover anything.
>
> If you are worried enough you can also blowtorch the platters, which
> makes recovery completely impossible (in the physically strong sense),
> since above a certain temperature the magnetisation is completely and
> irretrivably lost.
>
> Not opening the disk is risky, since you actually may fail to damage
> all platters, even with the .30 bullets.

If there's a hole in the top of the drive and a hole in the bottom, it's a
fair bet that all platters have been damaged.

I'd be very surprised if any .30 caliber firearm on the market was incapable
of penetrating completely through a disk drive.

> Arno

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

Arno Wagner wrote:
>
> Previously Odie Ferrous <odie_ferrous@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > control_z@hotmail.com wrote:
> >>
> >> I have a bunch of old obsolete hard drives with somewhat sensitive
> >> information on them I want to physically destroy and put in the
> >> landfill.
> >>
> >> Would shooting a couple .30 cal bullets through the hard drives
> >> (being sure to penetrate the platters rather than just the outside
> >> edges) prevent black hat hackers from recovering the data? I'd imagine
> >> some 3-letter government agency could recover some of the data by
> >> working on the holy platters, but I'm not worried about that, just
> >> about CC numbers and stuff.
>
> > Just strip the drive and smash the platters with a heavy hammer.
>
> > Then dissolve the platters in acid.
>
> > I hate to admit it, but even I could not recover these.
>
> So you could recover if the acid is left out? ;-)=)
>
> Arno

Bit of superglue, then sand the platters smooth so the heads don't catch
on the superglue overflow, and Bob's your auntie!


Odie
--
Retrodata
www.retrodata.co.uk
Globally Local Data Recovery Experts

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

CWatters wrote:
> <control_z@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1121454072.134185.191970@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> > I know security wipes will work, but it's a lot of hard drives. Some
> > are IDE, some are SCSI, plus it takes hours to securely wipe each one.
>
> Turn the drives upside down and give one good wack with a 3lb hammer. I bet
> you could one every two seconds. Ya can't reload that fast.


75 round drum magazine, an aimed shot per second at least.

Besides, whacking them with a hammer does nothing to destroy the
platters themselves.

Ok so maybe I just want to find a use for shooting stuff...

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

Previously Odie Ferrous <odie_ferrous@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Arno Wagner wrote:
>>
>> Previously Odie Ferrous <odie_ferrous@hotmail.com> wrote:
[...]
>> > Just strip the drive and smash the platters with a heavy hammer.
>>
>> > Then dissolve the platters in acid.
>>
>> > I hate to admit it, but even I could not recover these.
>>
>> So you could recover if the acid is left out? ;-)=)
>>
>> Arno

> Bit of superglue, then sand the platters smooth so the heads don't catch
> on the superglue overflow, and Bob's your auntie!

Cool!

Arno

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

Arno Wagner wrote:

> Previously Odie Ferrous <odie_ferrous@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> Arno Wagner wrote:
>>>
>>> Previously Odie Ferrous <odie_ferrous@hotmail.com> wrote:
> [...]
>>> > Just strip the drive and smash the platters with a heavy hammer.
>>>
>>> > Then dissolve the platters in acid.
>>>
>>> > I hate to admit it, but even I could not recover these.
>>>
>>> So you could recover if the acid is left out? ;-)=)
>>>
>>> Arno
>
>> Bit of superglue, then sand the platters smooth so the heads don't catch
>> on the superglue overflow, and Bob's your auntie!
>
> Cool!

I suspect he's joking.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

Previously J. Clarke <jclarke.usenet@snet.net.invalid> wrote:
> Arno Wagner wrote:

>> Previously Odie Ferrous <odie_ferrous@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> Arno Wagner wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Previously Odie Ferrous <odie_ferrous@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> [...]
>>>> > Just strip the drive and smash the platters with a heavy hammer.
>>>>
>>>> > Then dissolve the platters in acid.
>>>>
>>>> > I hate to admit it, but even I could not recover these.
>>>>
>>>> So you could recover if the acid is left out? ;-)=)
>>>>
>>>> Arno
>>
>>> Bit of superglue, then sand the platters smooth so the heads don't catch
>>> on the superglue overflow, and Bob's your auntie!
>>
>> Cool!

> I suspect he's joking.

I think "satire" is the technical term ;-)

Arno

 

[Buck]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

How about just scratching all the surface of the platters, I don't see
how anyone can retrieve anything after that. Acid and melting them are
two good ideas too. Or take the platters put em on the floor and stomp
on them yelling GO AWAY DATA AND DONT COME BACK!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

"J. Clarke" <jclarke.usenet@snet.net.invalid> wrote in message
news:dbb3tn025k8@news1.newsguy.com...
> > Not opening the disk is risky, since you actually may fail to damage
> > all platters, even with the .30 bullets.
>
> If there's a hole in the top of the drive and a hole in the bottom, it's a
> fair bet that all platters have been damaged.
>
> I'd be very surprised if any .30 caliber firearm on the market was
incapable
> of penetrating completely through a disk drive.

I agree, it can't take much energy to blow through a hard drive, anything in
30 cal should do the job nicely. Plus it would be entertaining! It doesn't
get much easier than shooting the drives, if you are already a shooting
enthusiast and are going to be shooting anyway. A couple more points:

1. Any decent wiping software should have no trouble eliminating data, as
was mentioned earlier. Time consuming yes, I choose physical damage myself,
usually in the form of a big hammer or other heavy object.

2. If its really just CC numbers, bank info and such, almost anything
destructive you do to the drive is going to require more effort than any
common thief is willing to shell out. Plus, any thief with that kind of
skills and ability is likely much more particular about his targets. He's
not after small potatoes.

3. If its the government you are worried about, well, by the time the feds
are on your case so much they are recovering your old hard drives, I think
you are pretty much screwed anyway.

--Dan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

control_z@hotmail.com wrote:

>
>
> CWatters wrote:
>> <control_z@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:1121454072.134185.191970@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>> > I know security wipes will work, but it's a lot of hard drives. Some
>> > are IDE, some are SCSI, plus it takes hours to securely wipe each one.
>>
>> Turn the drives upside down and give one good wack with a 3lb hammer. I
>> bet you could one every two seconds. Ya can't reload that fast.
>
>
> 75 round drum magazine, an aimed shot per second at least.
>
> Besides, whacking them with a hammer does nothing to destroy the
> platters themselves.

You're just not using a big enough hammer.

> Ok so maybe I just want to find a use for shooting stuff...

Build a small trebuchet and use them for shotgun practice. Good excuse for
building a trebuchet. Just don't get carried away--you don't need one big
enough to sling a house.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

 

[nick]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)

On 16 Jul 2005 13:45:04 -0700, control_z@hotmail.com wrote:

>
>
>CWatters wrote:
>> <control_z@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:1121454072.134185.191970@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>> > I know security wipes will work, but it's a lot of hard drives. Some
>> > are IDE, some are SCSI, plus it takes hours to securely wipe each one.
>>
>> Turn the drives upside down and give one good wack with a 3lb hammer. I bet
>> you could one every two seconds. Ya can't reload that fast.
>
>
> 75 round drum magazine, an aimed shot per second at least.
>
> Besides, whacking them with a hammer does nothing to destroy the
>platters themselves.

Take a hammer of a respectable size. The platters will at least be
bent, and they'll have a big impact mark.

Nick