Geek Software of the Week: DBAN

Have you ever sold or donated a PC to someone else? Have you considered that even if you “delete” your private data, it is still recoverable? So, your data COULD be retrieved and used to get into your bank account, etc.! You need a way to totally ZAP your data! Well, here you go!

Darik’s Boot and Nuke

“Darik’s Boot and Nuke (‘DBAN’) is a self-contained boot floppy that securely wipes the hard disks of most computers. DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk that it can detect, which makes it an appropriate utility for bulk or emergency data destruction.”

DBAN comes in a floppy and CD-ROM version. And, of course, it is totally FREE!

PLEASE NOTE: As Darkmoon points out in a comment to this post, there is NO “CONFIRM” option, once you choose to wipe your drive with DBAN, it will just WIPE IT! And, there is no return from this! Your data will be GONE! You have been warned! Don’t come crying to the Doctor! [Grin!]

By the way, if you are looking for a utility to simply delete files securely, WITHOUT wiping the hard drive, check out simple File Shredder available here:

Eraser