Use mkfs to securely erase data?

[Jeff7181]

Can mkfs be used to securely erase data? I was given instructions by a manufacturer to erase data on an appliance before returning it, and all it says to do is run mkfs.xfs -f on a specific volume. mkfs doesn't even write zeros to the entire drive, let alone perform a secure erase... does it?

 

[Nothinman]

No, that won't overwrite the entire volume. It'll essentially just do a quick format and overwrite the parts required for the filesystem.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Check out the shred command, should do what you want.

 

[Jeff7181]

Thanks... sounds like shred will be my last resort if I can't get DBAN to run or the manufacturer tells us not to use it.

 

[Nothinman]

The badblocks command also has a write mode which writes various patterns to the disk and makes sure they read back ok, so a destructive wipe is a side effect of that test.

 

[jhu]

cat ~/pr0n_folder/* > /dev/sd1

That should be more than enough to wipe that drive.