How do i make sure my flash drive is wiped

[Alkesh]

and no i will not set it on fire.

 

[Kirby64]

Thermite. You don't set it on fire, you liquefy it.

 

[amdskip]

Honestly I wouldn't sell any of my flash drives on ebay. I've had a few very personal items on mine and it's not worth someone stealing my identity with recovery software. Sell it to a family member or someone you can trust instead.

 

[xSauronx]

fill it up with garbage you dont care about and delete *that* ?

id think you could find some software for free with google that could write garbage to it without a problem

 

[gsethi]

load it up with PRON ??

All you have to do is rewrite over the entire drive (rewrite a few times just to be safe).

 

[xcript]

Smash it with a hammer.

 

[jpeyton]

DBAN

 

[Conky]

Originally posted by: xcript
Smash it with a hammer.

Beat me to it. :laugh:

 

[TheGizmo]

low-level format it... then load it up with random non confidential data, delete it... repeat these steps 3 to 4 times and you will not have any problems

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: TheGizmo
low-level format it... then load it up with random non confidential data, delete it... repeat these steps 3 to 4 times and you will not have any problems

Then, hit it with a hammer.

 

[iRONic]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
DBAN

Yup. Excellent utility.

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

 

[WiseOldDude]

10 minutes in the microwave on HIGH, then cool it off in a sink full of cold water

 

[TheGizmo]

Originally posted by: WiseOldDude
10 minutes in the microwave on HIGH, then cool it off in a sink full of cold water

5 bux says it will still work and have the data on it

 

[Kirby64]

Originally posted by: TheGizmo

Originally posted by: WiseOldDude
10 minutes in the microwave on HIGH, then cool it off in a sink full of cold water

5 bux says it will still work and have the data on it

Electronics work well after being doused in water? That's new to me.

 

[Bootprint]

Originally posted by: Kirby64

Originally posted by: TheGizmo

Originally posted by: WiseOldDude
10 minutes in the microwave on HIGH, then cool it off in a sink full of cold water

5 bux says it will still work and have the data on it

Electronics work well after being doused in water? That's new to me.

Flash drives can survive being left in your pocket and going through the wash.

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: Bootprint

Originally posted by: Kirby64

Originally posted by: TheGizmo

Originally posted by: WiseOldDude
10 minutes in the microwave on HIGH, then cool it off in a sink full of cold water

5 bux says it will still work and have the data on it

Electronics work well after being doused in water? That's new to me.

Flash drives can survive being left in your pocket and going through the wash.

I don't think the electronics will matter unless you plug it in when water is still in there. You might have some issues if the water dries and the minerals in the water connect the leads though.

 

[xanis]

Reformat the drive. I think most thumb drives are FAT file systems, so just reformat it in Windows.

 

[pcnerd37]

I saw a review of a Corsair Flash Voyager where they put it in boiling water and ran it over with their car and it still worked.

 

[Bootprint]

Originally posted by: Xanis
Reformat the drive. I think most thumb drives are FAT file systems, so just reformat it in Windows.

That'll only rewrite the FAT and leave everthing else intact, at least it does with an HD.

We had a bunch of HDs at work a few years back that we needed to be clean. A few were formated but then we used a disk editor and could still find all the data intact. We ended up using DBAN on the lot before sending them out.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

DBAN it, then fill it with porn.

- M4H

 

[Luthien]

Bleh, just do like already said and load it up with crap format it and do it again a few times. Or buy some software that does it for you.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
DBAN it, then fill it with porn.

- M4H

Mixed music flash drives?
I suddenly want to write a CD-erasing program, and it shall be called, "Oh snap!"

 

[Kirby]

Does DBAN format all hard drives that it detects? Or can you choose what drives? From the readme it sounded like you boot it on flashdisk or floppy and it wipes everything.

 

[Nocturnal]

Smash it with a hammer.

 

[mercanucaribe]

You must be really paranoid