My new Seagate died on me. I want to send it to them for a replacement but I'd like to get my personal data (credit card #'s, tax info) off the drive first. What should I do? Get a giant magnet?
Thanks
Thanks
How do you wipe a busted hard drive?
- Thread starter EyeOfThe
- Start date
I don't think it will be a problem... I'd just send it back.
do you actually store that kind of stuff in files on your hard drive?
that's not safe!!!
do you actually store that kind of stuff in files on your hard drive?
that's not safe!!!
The chances of them picking your harddrive, out of hundreds of others that they get in RMA every day, is miniscule. Plus, if they ever did steal someone's credit card, they would instantly get a very unsavory reputation and probably loose more business then they would have ever gained benefit.
I thought they took the returned hard drives and tried to fix them or refurbish them, rather than just shitcan them.
I'm not afraid of Seagate the company, but the tech playing with my hard drive could steal my info, and then if they fix it and refurbish it and give it as a replacement to the next customer needing a replacement then that guy could get my data too (that is, if Seagate doesn't do a thorough cleaning job - I know that sounds silly, but you know there are a lot of ways to get old data off a hard drive.)
I shoulda kept my personal data somewhere else... but I didn't expect a brand new drive to die on me in a split second with no warning.
I'm not afraid of Seagate the company, but the tech playing with my hard drive could steal my info, and then if they fix it and refurbish it and give it as a replacement to the next customer needing a replacement then that guy could get my data too (that is, if Seagate doesn't do a thorough cleaning job - I know that sounds silly, but you know there are a lot of ways to get old data off a hard drive.)
I shoulda kept my personal data somewhere else... but I didn't expect a brand new drive to die on me in a split second with no warning.
And I'll bet once they fix the drive that they format it (or format it in the process of fixing the dirve). It is really easy to lose the data quickly. I mean if you lose the directory table the data is basically gone (I know it can be recovered, but it is extremely unlikely they would take the time to decode the data).
The only thing you have to worry about is the seagate tech. They will lowlevel format the drive before sending it out again. While it is possible to recover data after doing a LLF, I don't think it can be done without taking the lid off.
If somebody wants your data badly enough they can get it, even after a low level format. That being said, I doubt that the seagate tech has the time or the tools to even bother.
I would think that one of the perks of being a hard drive tech would be to get to search through hard drives for interesting material like credit card numbers, tax info, homemade your-wife-and-your-dog porn, top secret plans to the Death Star, the bootleg of Return of the King, etc.
You can try any of these options, dont quote me, that may or may not work.
Invest in a degausser here, which will run you $70 or so, dont use it near you pc or any media. use it in a garage or outside if possible.
Second, get a stun gun and zap the power connector to the hd, this method scrambles the magnetic field of the disk, leaving the data irrecoverable, hopefully. Just dont stun/kill yourself in the process, wear work gloves, also a costly solution, $60 or so and illegal in some states.
Third option, stick the hd in the freezer for a few days, supposedly the cold messes up the data so i was told.
make sure you don't return it frozen to seagate, thaw it out
Invest in a degausser here, which will run you $70 or so, dont use it near you pc or any media. use it in a garage or outside if possible.
Second, get a stun gun and zap the power connector to the hd, this method scrambles the magnetic field of the disk, leaving the data irrecoverable, hopefully. Just dont stun/kill yourself in the process, wear work gloves, also a costly solution, $60 or so and illegal in some states.
Third option, stick the hd in the freezer for a few days, supposedly the cold messes up the data so i was told.
make sure you don't return it frozen to seagate, thaw it out
Originally posted by: ActiveX
can always get one of these, just dont use it near your pc, use it in a garage or outside if possible. It will run you about $70, few passes should mess up the hd data, other option is to stick the hd in the freezer for a few days, supposedly the cold messes up the data so i was told.
Thaw it out before you return it
That won't bother a HD, and the cold won't trash the data, if you want proof, put your working HD in the freezer for a few days, let it thaw, put it in, and it'll work. If anything breaks, it'll be the mechanics of the drive, not the data.
And shocking the controller card won't matter either, its not wired to the platters, all you'll do is damage the controller card, and probably yourself. There are companies that can pull those platters out in clean-rooms, and get the data off by hand (its f-ing hard I'm sure, but they can for enough $$$).
and if you plan on RMAing the drive, and you can't actually get the drive to show on a system, you're SOL. Your options remain with physical destruction of the platters (removing the surface of the platter, not just trying to burn it of something, for example, a disk grinder), but that would probably trash your RMA.
If you can get it to show on a system, a multi-pass wipe (3, 5, or 7) with a good program is your solution.
No mag field you can produce for less than the price of a new hard drive is capable of hurting that data, so if you are really concerned, just buy a new drive and destroy the one you have. Otherwise, hope fate doesn't screw you.
DrPizza
Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
It's just so convenient sometimes to have that information on a hard drive though. Hint: Put the information on your hard drive, but make up a system for writing it that makes it easy for you to read, but not recognizable for what it is. (i.e. rather than have a folder called "credit card info" and a text file called "mastercard number and expiration", call it something completely innocent that would have numbers in it... i.e. "Fido's rabies vaccination... then, put the number in backwards, and toss the expiration date in the middle somewhere... Far less secure than something encrypted; but encryption usually means important data. Most people wouldn't give Fido's rabies vaccination a second glance.
I've heard a good way to quickly destroy a HDD permanently is to drive a few steel nails through it (with a pneumatic nail driver, I would hope). Apparently it screws up the magnetic fields on the platters (aside from putting holes in them) if you puncture them with something conductive/magnetic. But that may just be a computing myth. And it would certainly be hard to explain for a warranty return.
I also read that when the DoD had to destroy hard disks that had contained classified information, they started by scrubbing the disk in software (writing all zeroes, then all 1s, etc. repeatedly). Then they disassembled them and *ground off the platter surfaces*. Then they had to store them for some period of time before they could actually throw them away.
The odds of a hard drive technician rifling through your data looking for credit card numbers (for which he would undoubtedly lose his job if discovered) is probably millions of times lower than the odds of the next waiter you hand your card to making an imprint of it in the back room and getting it that way. Tax returns are a little more worrisome, as it probably contains your SSN, but still. You're making mountains out of molehills here.
I also read that when the DoD had to destroy hard disks that had contained classified information, they started by scrubbing the disk in software (writing all zeroes, then all 1s, etc. repeatedly). Then they disassembled them and *ground off the platter surfaces*. Then they had to store them for some period of time before they could actually throw them away.
The odds of a hard drive technician rifling through your data looking for credit card numbers (for which he would undoubtedly lose his job if discovered) is probably millions of times lower than the odds of the next waiter you hand your card to making an imprint of it in the back room and getting it that way. Tax returns are a little more worrisome, as it probably contains your SSN, but still. You're making mountains out of molehills here.
Originally posted by: Matthias99
I've heard a good way to quickly destroy a HDD permanently is to drive a few steel nails through it (with a pneumatic nail driver, I would hope). Apparently it screws up the magnetic fields on the platters (aside from putting holes in them) if you puncture them with something conductive/magnetic. But that may just be a computing myth. And it would certainly be hard to explain for a warranty return.
I also read that when the DoD had to destroy hard disks that had contained classified information, they started by scrubbing the disk in software (writing all zeroes, then all 1s, etc. repeatedly). Then they disassembled them and *ground off the platter surfaces*. Then they had to store them for some period of time before they could actually throw them away.
The odds of a hard drive technician rifling through your data looking for credit card numbers (for which he would undoubtedly lose his job if discovered) is probably millions of times lower than the odds of the next waiter you hand your card to making an imprint of it in the back room and getting it that way. Tax returns are a little more worrisome, as it probably contains your SSN, but still. You're making mountains out of molehills here.
The nail thing sounds fishy, but like you said, good luck with the RMA...
The DoD has approved software wiping standards, that many wiping software packages use. The theoretical secure level is 7 passes in a DoD wipe, something about increasing the chances of getting error (false data)in a detailed scan of the surface to a point that is impractical.
The surface removal is a hardware assurance, and I have heard of this used before, but once you get down to the base platter material, I can't see why storage makes a difference...oh well.
Again, for CC #s which are fraud-protected, and SSN where can be found with easier methods and data recovery, it hardly seems worth the hassle. You can most of that data through the mail if you really try hard enough
Come clean... its your p0rn collection you are worried about someone else getting....
Heh, credit card numbers.....
Heh, credit card numbers.....
Hey - if my box is set up RAID 0... and I only sent them 1 of the 2 drives, there's no worries right?:beer:
data is data man, just because its not easy to recover doesn't mean its not possible. Thats no guarantee
There could be a stripe that contains all the numbers of a CC, its stripe size dependent, and not assurable.
SUOrangeman
Diamond Member
- Oct 12, 1999
- 8,361
- 0
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I've successfully RMA'd drives by just returning the circuit board and the top of the drive. I've never done it for personal use, but I'm sure a knowledgeable RMA staffer on the other end of te phone would give you this option.
-SUO
-SUO
If I don't send them the entire drive - how do they know the drive is really busted - and that I'm not a moron who forgot to plug in the PC (or some other error where the HD is not to blame)?
Surely companies have sensitive data on drives all the time and surely sometimes these drives will fail and their tech guys will want to RMA them..
Wouldn't most HDD companies have something in place to make sure to mark those platters with known private material for destruction, instead of possible reuse?
Have you called Seagate and asked?
Wouldn't most HDD companies have something in place to make sure to mark those platters with known private material for destruction, instead of possible reuse?
Have you called Seagate and asked?
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