Questions tagged [deletion]
Secure deletion of data.
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Parted Magic Secure Erase Verification Level
I've been experimenting with the latest Parted Magic Secure Erase to wipe HDDs and SSDs. After the Secure Erase completes, I noticed in the logs that the verification level is 10%. Excerpt from the ...
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Deleting files from folder encrypted with fscrypt
I have a folder encrypted with fscrypt. If I unlock this folder and delete a file from it (as the folder is unlocked anyone can see the contents of the files), then after deletion I lock this folder ...
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Does certutil -delkey actually delete the certificate and private key?
I am trying to delete a certificate and it's private key using certutil -csp "Microsoft Enhanced Cryptographic Provider v1.0" -delkey "the key container". This gave me a command ...
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How can data from VirtualBox leak to the host and how to avoid it?
I used a virtual machine (Windows host/Linux mint guest) to store some very sensitive and private data (it shouldn't be uncovered by state-level actors). Today I decided to check how much deleted ...
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Howto restore factory default state of an USB pen drive?
The proper way to secure erase a SSD is to issue the SECURITY ERASE UNIT command. Then the SSD controller should send a BLOCK ERASE command to all physical blocks.
One caveat: the SSD has to be ...
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How to securely erase the free space on an SSD in windows 10?
I would like to wipe ALL free space on my SSD which Windows 10 is installed on, so that no previously deleted file can be recovered. How can I achieve this?
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Signal — Can message previews of the messages you send be disabled in the chats’ list of your addressee?
Premise
Signal is armed with measures to instil a sense of privacy in users by preventing undisclosed screenshotting and screencasting message threads, and by enabling the sender to set their text, ...
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Can a deleted file on an SSD with trim enabled be recovered? [duplicate]
I'm just wondering from a security stand point if a deleted file on an SSD with trim enabled can be recovered? I've did some research and it would seem it is impossible unless for some reason trim ...
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Data remanence - DDR2
I read "Data Remanence in Semiconductor Devices" by Peter Gutmann, in which it is stated that it is possible to reconstruct the content of an erased SRAM based on changes of properties of ...
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Erased encrypted HDD, then secure erased 10% of it before selling it - is it safe?
I have a 4TB mechanical hard drive that was encrypted before I ever wrote any file on it. I used a 25 character password with symbols.
Before I sold it, I unmounted the disk while it was still ...
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How can you securely destroy data permanently and completely? [duplicate]
I have some extremely sensitive data on a computer, hard drive, and on a private server. I do not care about cost or method, as I have a lot of funds (though not unlimited) and I do not want to go ...
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What ways other than password and authorized SSH key are there to log in to a Linux system?
When deleting a user on a Linux system, if you lock their password and kill all their processes, a logged in user disconnects and can't log in with his password anymore.
But if they still have an ...
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How to wipe out data on a USB drive that is faulty, so that data can't be recovered?
I have several faulty USB drives and I like to return these to the vendor to get my money back - but without the vendor being able to access any data which might be still on the drives
Problem is, the ...
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Can SD cards on mobile phones and tablets truly be erased?
When performing a factory reset on Android devices, it is my understanding that the pointers to the data located in the SD card are simply erased while the data itself remains intact, waiting for ...
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How to prevent the recovery of deleted files without a full format of external HDD?
How can I securely delete selected files so they can’t be recovered, but without the full format of the external HDD? Is this even possible?
I’m using Mac OS.
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Can ransomware impact SSD drives?
I was watching this DefCon talking about Solid State Drives (SSDs) destroying forensic and data recovery jobs. It was interesting to note, that the speaker did acknowledge that it is unknown how long ...
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How do I securely erase USB flash drives?
I would like to know if there is a way to securely erase USB flash drives without a chance to recover data from it once it has been erased. I know, that programms like DBAN can be used to securely ...
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ThinkShield secure wipe - SSD does it forbid data recovering?
I have to give my computer back to my boss.
I want to delete all the data from my SSD. I found "ThinkShield secure wipe" which is implemented in the BIOS apparently.
It gives me two options:
...
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Can encrypted and deleted files be recovered?
If you’ve watched the news, you know that Secret Service text messages were deleted. Now they’re trying to recover them.
If those text messages were encrypted before deletion, and the key was also ...
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Full disk encryption and data recovery capabilities [duplicate]
So I had linux mint with fde, had sensitive files on it, shut down my pc, and reinstalled a new linux mint OS with fde. What are the chances of data recovery from the first OS?
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Preventing data remanence at filesystem / OS level
We all know that deleting a file from your computer does not really erase it, but only marks as free the memory where the file was written, so that, until such memory is not overwritten, the file can ...
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Safest way to wipe sensitive information off company phone before giving it away [duplicate]
We have a lot of devices in my company that we use to test and after some years some of them become unsupported.
We are thinking about selling some of the ones that are not used any more but worry ...
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How file deletion works?
If deleting files just removes the references then why not just delete the actual files instead of just removing the references?
Just removing the references leaves the file intact until it is ...
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Fetching GPG private key from Linux server to decrypt files on a Win 10 computer in production
I have a need to fetch automatically the GPG private key from a Linux server to decrypt files on a Windows 10 computer in production.
There are a few challenges here:
How to assure SCP from the ...
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Why is writing zeros (or random data) over a hard drive multiple times better than just doing it once?
Lots of different programs, such as Darik's Boot and Nuke, let you write over a hard drive multiple times under the guise of it being more secure than just doing it once. Why?
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Wiping an SSD with Parted Magic seemed too quick
I'm selling a computer with an SSD (it's a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1). I wiped the drive using Parted Magic. I used the ATA method. I'm not sure what that is but it was the only setting available. It ...
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Can a full SSD or HDD recover deleted data?
I've always been curious. It may be a stupid question but what if you deleted a file then filled up the SSD or HDD. Could your deleted data be recovered or is it physically impossible? I know Windows ...
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If we open a file using a program, but then later securely delete that file, is it possible for that file to be recovered via that program?
Or I open a video using vlc media player, and later delete it securely. Does vlc "retain" some of the parts of that video even after deletion?
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Are deleted offline calendar events in Android actually deleted?
When an Android app deletes a calendar event in a local (offline / non-synced) calendar, does Android's Calendar Storage (com.android.providers.calendar) actually delete the event or does it just flag ...
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How do I delete files securely? [duplicate]
I'm trying to make an app that can encrypt files and decrypt them on demand(for educational purposes)
I need a way to:
delete the file from where it was before
delete the file each time the app ...
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How to make an undeletable, hidden file, which persists after formatting an SD card?
My SD card was stolen some weeks ago. I can't know which SD card is mine, because the thief formatted it. As such, I bought a new one.
In order to prevent such situations in the future, I thought of ...
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Log4shell - Should affected servers be "nuked from the orbit"?
Considering how log4shell seems trivial to exploit and the important control level it gives to an attacker, should we wipe everything affected and start over?
For example, we find out that a publicly ...
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Does the destruction of sensitive information limit the choice of hard drives to non-flash based devices?
Working with a non-profit organization,it's common to reuse hard drives that have previously stored highly sensitive information such as medical and financial records. This is primarily driven by cost-...
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What happens to apps, files, objects in a VM if it gets deleted
Usually, when a file is deleted on your computer, it is simply unlinked. The file data is still stored on your disk, there's just nothing pointing to that spot in the memory, and the OS interprets ...
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Encrypting file = Overwriting file?
When thinking of encrypting a file (also how I implemented it in a program of mine), I think of getting the data of a file, encrypting it, and writing it back into the file (overwriting the file).
But ...
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Which temperature ensures permanent erasure of data on flash?
Which heat ensures permanent loss of data on flash memory, in particular, on consumer-grade USB thumb drives (e.g., http://www.amazon.de/dp/B085SXT9FS or http://www.hood.de/0094819941.htm )? How long ...
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How can I wipe an infected SSD [duplicate]
Recently my PC fell subject to some malware. The malware is hidden and all the antivirus software can't find/detect it. The things it has done so far is spyware like, it disabled System Restore from ...
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Is there some way to "fully delete" received and sent SMS messages (and any other "deleted" data") on my cellphone?
I have a cheap cellphone bought about ten years ago. It has a physical SIM card. I have in-phone "deleted" all sent and received messages, but very strongly suspect that these are still ...
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How secure is the windows Cipher command?
So in windows CMD, there is the Cipher.exe Command Line tool. Supposedly it will allow you to fully overwrite empty disk space with 0x00 and 0xFF. (with the /w parameter)
There is some further ...
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How do I destroy references to wiped files?
I partially wiped my hard drive using the null-fill method through command prompt by
copying a 1 Gigabyte file filled with NULL over and over until I ran out of space.
After that I tried recovering ...
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Apple's Keychain - good security?
This management system runs under a user's password. Should you let this software manage your Disk Utility encrypted folder passwords and the like (e.g. GnuPG!)? My thoughts are, "No." ...
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Is a file shredder/secure erase necessary when you have full disk encryption turned on?
The password manager that I use has instructions to migrate to a new file format:
Export existing passwords to a temporary text file
Change password manager to new format
Import passwords from ...
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What's a good secure file deletion software?
I've used cipher \w which is built into Windows to overwrite free space, but I'm looking for a tool that securely deletes files which have not been deleted yet. It would be a plus (but certainly not ...
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Router - is there anything to "wipe" before selling
It's a Linksys WRT1900AC. Beyond resetting the firmware is there anything else I should consider as it's been used in a business. I'm thinking about personally identifiable information from a legal ...
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Securely deleting Volume Shadow Service (VSS) in Windows 10
Suppose that VSS is enabled and snapshots exist. If I run a program to wipe the free disk space on my drive, would this delete the VSS snapshots? It might do since the program works by filling up the ...
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Cases where DBAN has won
Are there any real life cases where software such as DBAN (to securely erase disks) has beaten government/law enforcement agencies?
I found this online which lists each time encryption has beaten ...
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Wipe data from many storage devices
This software for wipe devices of storage:
Active@Kill Disk - Hard Drive Eraser.
Eraser.
Shredit for Windows.
Disk Wipe.
Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN).
I wonder if this software is able to use for ...
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Print sensitive info without leaving data on the printer
I'm not sure if there is already a question here about this because I can't find anything. But I'm wondering if there are any "safer" ways to print sensitive information without leaving ...
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If SSDs cannot be securely wiped then why can't we recover files after crypto virus attack?
It is my understanding that SSDs do not allow user to overwrite any specific file completely (wear-leveling). So in case of ransomware attack such as CryptoLocker, doesn't that mean there is still, ...
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What is the difference between ATA Secure Erase and Security Erase? How can I ensure they worked?
I'd like to wipe a stack of drives (spinning and SSD) securely. I'm familiar with the ATA Secure Erase (SE) command via hdparm, but I'm not sure if I should use the Security Erase (SE+) command ...
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