Edit:
Fantastic answers, thanks all for the insight!
In: Technology
When A file is deleted off of the computer hard drive, most times all that is happening is that the title of the file and its location on the disk are erased from the File Allocation Table. The file itself still resides on the disk and can be recovered with the right software. This is why the department of defense Recommends that you wipe the drive completely three times in order to destroy any and all information that is on it before donating, or even destroy the disk completely to prevent the information from ending up in the wrong hands.
Edit to add: DOD Specs 5220.22-M specifies that you should write a random character in every space on the drive 3 times to assure that it is not recoverable. I worked in the Justice Department and we would wipe all drives three times random and then one MORE time with all zeros as some software would view ‘random’ as ‘not wiped.’ All zero’s in every space took care of this bit.
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