Solved Inquiry on dban (dariks boot and nuke)

BobOmb · Jun 21, 2025

I use KillDisk because you can produce a certificate with it to give to the "client" or whoever asked you to delete their data

it gives you serial number, model, erase method etc in the report

KillDisk: Disk Eraser, Wiper & Sanitizer - Erase HDD/SSD/USB/NVMe Securely

alternatively to completely destroy spinning disks, drilling holes is effectve against data recovery, or for ssd physically breaking the nand

(if you are willing to pay top dollar for Data Recovery and there is a physical scratch on the surface of the disk they will decline the job, so drilling holes guarantees no one will touch it)

SlicEnDicE · Jun 21, 2025

BobOmb said:
if you are willing to pay top dollar for Data Recovery and there is a physical scratch on the surface of the disk they will decline the job, so drilling holes guarantees no one will touch it

Depends who you ask. It would have cost me 8000€ to just send over my broken HDD with physical damage on the platters to a forensics company and all they would have done, was assess the situation, give an estimate of cost and how much data could be possibly recovered.

The actual recovery job would have cost pre guesstimated...about 20000-150000€ depending on how deep I would have wanted to recover data.

hdmi · Jun 21, 2025

FreeBooter said:
It's not possible to recover data from TRIM enabled SSDs. This is because when an SSD erases data with the TRIM feature enabled, the data being deleted is immediately overwritten permanently. This makes it impossible to recover the data, as it no longer exists.

On modern version of Windows operating system, TRIM is usually enabled by default.

By making sure everything gone, you can write zeros to disk with Diskpart command.

On SSDs, TRIM does not erase any data whatsoever.

BobOmb · Jun 21, 2025

@hdmi i think he means after a wipe a TRIM zeros everything out

hdmi · Jun 21, 2025

SlicEnDicE said:
Adding or removing partitions has nothing to do with wiping a HDD. A sector by sector 3-5x or more wipe with completely random data will wipe EVERYTHING on the HDD, including any possible MFT. Not even the most advanced chemistry tools can recover that.

Yes of course, but my point was that cipher.exe doesn't write random data to unallocated space nor writes random data to the gap that exists between two adjacent partitions. Not a problem if all the space on the HDD is allocated to only a single partition or if you can be sure that none of the sectors that fall between the cracks contain any sensitive data like how I have explained.

hdmi · Jun 21, 2025

BobOmb said:
@hdmi i think he means after a wipe a TRIM zeros everything out

I don't know what he means, but when I say that TRIM on SSDs doesn't erase any data whatsoever, I mean TRIM on SSDs doesn't erase any data whatsoever.

SlicEnDicE · Jun 21, 2025

hdmi said:
Yes of course, but my point was that cipher.exe doesn't write random data to unallocated space nor writes random data to the gap that exists between two adjacent partitions. Not a problem if all the space on the HDD is allocated to only a single partition or if you can be sure that none of the sectors that fall between the cracks contain any sensitive data like how I have explained.

Forget partitions...a full disk wipe will not contain any partitions of any kind. It is pure sector per sector writes. There are no gaps anywhere. Every single bit will be overwritten.

spapakons · Jun 21, 2025

hdmi said:
Yes of course, but my point was that cipher.exe doesn't write random data to unallocated space nor writes random data to the gap that exists between two adjacent partitions. Not a problem if all the space on the HDD is allocated to only a single partition or if you can be sure that none of the sectors that fall between the cracks contain any sensitive data like how I have explained.

The gap between partitions should not contain any personal data since these would be registered in the partition space, so let's don't unnecessarily scare the OP. If he is too concerned he can either give away the computer without the disk or replace the original disk with a cheap refurbished one and install Windows there. He can either keep the original disk in a safe or destroy it. End of story.

SlicEnDicE · Jun 21, 2025

I agree with @spapakons on this one.

Also DBAN was the question here. It's secure enough, no matter which method is used in this case.

cipher.exe is not the tool in any shape or form for the job in this modern day.

cereberus · Jun 21, 2025

SlicEnDicE said:
Yeah, I'd stick it in a furnace and recover all the metals from it to create something new. That's the only 100% sure way to get the data destroyed.

Unless the data is worth millions, a couple of secure sector by sector wipe passes will do the trick.

Other creative ways to destroy a drive.

1) launch it on a spaceship headed to the sun.

2) Put it on grounds of nuclear testing site just before a test

3) Give it to wife who can destroy anything technical.

4) Borrow Dr Crippen's bath and use sulphuric acid.

5) Drop it into the Marinar Trench.

6) Take it with old car and get it compressed into small cube.

7) Drill small hole in it and pressurise to 100 bar.

8) Put in liquid nitrogen, then fracture it with a hammer.

I am sure readers here can come up with other creative ways -

spapakons · Jun 21, 2025

cereberus said:
Other creative ways to destroy a drive.

1) launch it on a spaceship headed to the sun.

2) Put it on grounds of nuclear testing site just before a test

3) Give it to wife who can destroy anything technical.

4) Borrow Dr Crippen's bath and use sulphuric acid.

5) Drop it into the Marinar Trench.

6) Take it with old car and get it compressed into small cube.

7) Drill small hole in it and pressurise to 100 bar.

8) Put in liquid nitrogen, then fracture it with a hammer.

I am sure readers here can come up with other creative ways -

Give it to kids, give them a sledgehammer and award many candies to the one who can send the pieces the greater distance with one blow. Of course they should wear protective clothes and a helmet.

Helmuuth · Jun 21, 2025

According to online sources :
* DBAN is the free, no-frills, older option that is still decent for wiping traditional HDDs for personal use. Its lack of SSD support and updates makes it less reliable for modern storage.
* KillDisk is a more comprehensive, actively developed solution that offers advanced features, better SSD support, and compliance capabilities, especially in its paid versions. It's often preferred by businesses and organizations that need robust data destruction with verifiable results.
If you're dealing with modern SSDs or need formal documentation of data erasure, KillDisk (or other enterprise-grade solutions like Blancco Drive Eraser) would be a far superior choice to DBAN

I chose dban because it uses dod lvl sanitation...you cant go wrong with DOD method 2 pass wipe. For now iam around 99% confidant my old pc is now ready to change hands

pseymour · Jun 21, 2025

Blancco and DBAN are the same folks, and Blancco will tell you DBAN does not erase SSDs.

I would check with the manufacturer of the drive; a lot of them have secure erase tools. Or your PC's firmware might have a secure erase option.

spapakons · Jun 21, 2025

I have used Blancco, but it's not free, I wouldn't buy it for a single disk. Hopefully you can do it with the Trial version.

Data Erasure Software for Enterprises, ITAD & Mobile | Blancco

Get certified, secure data erasure software for data centers, laptops, mobile, SSDs, NVMes & more. Tackle EOL assets and active data with confidence.

blancco.com

FreeBooter · Jun 21, 2025

hdmi said:
On SSDs, TRIM does not erase any data whatsoever.

What make you think i said TRIM erase data why don't you get life and explain your view to other instead of me and hope they believe you.

spapakons · Jun 21, 2025

TRIM overwrites deleted parts of the SSD. This is enough to corrupt any data, so a data recovery program can find some files but are all useless because are overwritten. TRIM running automatically means if you delete your disk, your data will be overwritten and corrupted and in theory non-recoverable.

Helmuuth · Jun 21, 2025

To be clear my old pc is an asus x540sa bought in 2015. Running W10. 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD

spapakons · Jun 21, 2025

Doesn't make any difference. If I wanted to give away mine because I bought a new PC, I would remove my SSD and other disks and use them in the new PC or put away. I would then put a cheap HDD or SSD in the old computer, reinstall Windows and give it. No worries about my data falling to wrong hands.

PS: I remembered the tool, it was caller Low Lever Format, found here:

HDDGURU: HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool

This freeware HDD Low Level Format utility can erase, Low-Level Format and re-certify a SATA, IDE, SAS, SCSI, SSD hard disk drive. Will also work with any USB and FIREWIRE external drive enclosures as well as SD, MMC, MemoryStick and CompactFlash media.

hddguru.com

I think this is more than enough, just download it use it to wipe the disk and don't think about it again. This is from the websote:

WARNING: After running this low level format tool, the whole disk surface will be erased.
Data restoration is impossible after using this utility!

Helmuuth · Jun 21, 2025

Old pc was used for banking, accounting and my wifes business and her associates info 2015 to 2024, lots of data

spapakons · Jun 21, 2025

Helmuuth said:
Old pc was used for banking, accounting and my wifes business and her associates info 2015 to 2024, lots of data

Still if you Low Level Format it, an average user cannot retrieve any data at all. At least not with consumer level software. I even doubt if a professional service that charge $$$$ can do it. You also have the alternative to keep the disk and install Windows to another disk before giving away the old computer. It's not necessary, but you will have peace of mind.

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