Best Eraser

Hi, look out, folks in USA, if your surname is

Killer, wildman, crazyman or ....

 

East Tec Eraser is sold in USA under the name of CyberScrub Privacy Suite. Maybe Robin Hood's folks could rename Evidence Eliminator for the American market in something like CyberPatriot or Free World Protector... Just kidding.

No, really, in these times of corroding privacy Gerard's point is legitimate.

Finally, it's up to everyone to decide what's good or bad for them.

 

Last post on this. I am not even beginning to suggest that someone would be convicted of a crime. But suspected? Add a little circumstantial evidence to the "case" and "hey, this guy also had an "evidence eliminator" on his PC." The possibility then grows that the cops look harder (maybe for nothing), prosecutors are more suspicious (even though they have no reason to be), and juries are just people - and if they don't understand this stuff - it looks bad! Is it enough to convict someone? Absolutely not. I never suggested as much. Is it enough to raise eyebrows and possibly cost you fees to an attorney to defend yourself because a cursory look at your computer has a program with an incriminating name? Is it worth it? Consider my friend I wrote about in the last post - I'm glad he didn't have the program on his box. Again, it's not about whether you would be convicted on this alone - but it could cause a hassle big enough for it to cost you in the wallet.

If you disagree - that's fine. Just don't ever be in the position of my friend and then have that program on your PC. He would have been investigated 10 times harder and with more gusto because to people who don't understand - it just looks bad. Again, it's not what it does, it's the name!

On edit: Go to Google put in "Evidence Eliminator" and check the google news archives. Tons of stories making a big deal out of suspects having a program with this name on their computers. Read all that and tell me it doesn't matter. Here's just one:
http://www.rrstar.com/homepage/x368603386

AND...there's so many......but check this out - I'm not the only one. From The New York Times:

Various software programs can be used to overwrite data. One popular product, Evidence Eliminator, draws a red flag in legal circles. "I'm still puzzled why someone would use a product of that name," said Michael A. Gold, a senior partner with the law firm Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro in Century City, Calif., and a chairman of the firm's Discovery Technology Group."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/05/t...all&adxnnlx=1210720161-x48XKyibnGicBszZiuqTjQ

 

snip<<<<<unnecessary comment>>>>>>>

This is insane. All I wamted was information as to which products erase both cluster tips and the MFT, that was it. Look what this thread has become. This is ridiculous.

SafetyFirst - I've noticed you have a tendency to be very argumentative, both in this thread and in others. Stop it! There is no point to it; what possible benefit do you think would come from arguing over a product name? If someone doesn't like the name fine, it's their perogative not to.

Gerard Morentzy, Perman - Don't poke the bears, you know better than that.

If someone new had just discovered Wilders and saw that this is the way posters behave what do you think their view of it would be?

I push the envelope with the mods, true, but not like this.

As my intentions for this thread will never be accomplished, and because it seems to now only be a place for disruption , I ask the mods to close this thread.

Respectfully,
Nate

 

Or, we could just say - back to topic!

Interestingly, we need to define "wiping program." I think really Nate isn't looking for something that "cleans tracks," as much as he is looking for an Eraser-like program to wipe single files, wipe free space, etc.

If that's indeed what you're looking for, Nate, have you tried BCWipe?
Here is a link and they give you a 30-day trial:
http://www.jetico.com/bcwipe3.htm

Aside from Eraser, there is also one I remember using a few years back called "Hard Disk Scrubber" - but not sure if its still around.

Oh...there's also Shred Agent. I found it here:
http://www.shredagent.com/solutions/wipe-free-disk-space.htm
Another 30-day free trial.

 

You asked, I answered. I offered a solution to ponder upon, it's up to you to decide. And it wasn't me who opened the name debate.

You don't want to discuss this any more? Fine, suit yourself...

 

You might not have started the 'name debate' but you did continue it when there was no reason to do so.

All I'm saying is that everyone here, not just you, needs to post with integrity. That might be a concept that has degraded over the years here but it is still important. Remember that people read what you right, because of that everything written should be done so with respect.

 

Nate - Hope you didn't miss my post right above SafetyFirst's. I had a few ideas.

 

Nope, I surely didn't. Thank you very much for the BCWipe idea. I'm trying it out right now and so far so good. I'll let you know.

 

R-Wipe does. You can try it for free

 

N8chavez, what criteria will you employ (and what procedures will you use) to empirically determine if BCWipe qualifies as the “best eraser” for you?

Thank you.

 

I've tried that but I was not thrilled with it. Thank you for the suggestion though. I do suggest other interested in this kind of app take a look at it and see if it fits you.

 

Well, I guess it would have to be Eraser + MFT wiping. I like applications that are 'simplistically powerful' if that makes any sense. I have to say that I like BCWipe very much.

I'll generally use the utility to erase my SBIE sandbox and erase every file with the schneier method. I have no use for the Window recycle bin. I do a lot of financial stuff for work and I'd rather be safe then sorry.

 

Pleonasm, One thing I like about BCWipe is the integrated Hex viewer. You can actually use the same tool to check the results. To me, that takes confidence in your product. It is a Jetico application too which speaks well for it. I have always respected the Jetico name -- reliability/support/etc. Quality all the way around.

 

Very true. From what I can tell that feature works very well. Another +1 for BCWipe.

 

I assume that the hex viewer can be used to inspect disk sectors that have been overwritten by the erase operation for a file, but can it also be used to inspect the record in the Master File Table ($MFT) that contained the file name to ensure that it too is destroyed?

On a more general note, I think there is merit in using an independent tool (e.g., WinHex) to verify the operation of an erase utility. Using an integrated capability within an erase utility to verify the operation of that same tool may represent a “conflict of interest,” so-to-speak.

 

I would tend to agree with that statement as any in-software hrx viewers might be seen as biased. However, I would give BCWipe the benefit of the doubt on this one.

 

The only one which does the business properly - to protect your privacy properly, covering a multitude of tracks and preventing various methods of analysing what your PC has ben doing is Evidence Eliminator.

I got my copy years back with a 50% discount. Google about and you may find a reduced price from a reseller.

 

I don't agree. At all. "Only," is an awfully big word.

 

I would agree with you on this. Although, is there a possibility that this might be the "only" application that securely erase? I don't believe so, in fact I just purchased BCWipe, but you never know.

 

Well, i just finished testing EVIDENCE ELIMINATOR ON MY ENEMIC 512mB XP Pro and allow me to share my results.

EE claims to pulverize many areas of hidden and sensitive data alright but they also leaves very HUGE evidence that it's users has had plenty of data to dispense with.

EE does nothing to enhance performance and i suppose that's it's chief purpose, but if i was a forensics detective, i might not be able to recover the shredder evidence, but the very massive numbers of deletions would give rise to some suspicion there was much to hide.

After running EE, i did my normal routine of running RESTORATION that "Deletes Completely" already deleted files. My normal amount counts close to no more than 800 at the very most from days of surfing, but after a EE run, i now have over, get this, 10,000 files for RESTORATION to clean up.

So where EE might very well have proved effective enough in pure shredding, that it's chief means to the end was of destroying sensitive or concerned data. Any forensic investigator well equipped with even a simple freeware like RESTORATION can easily determine that there was something very much to conceal and destroy leaving open some suspicion that perhaps the user indeed had reason to make such a hasty retreat of such data.

Of course one could also make a case that the HD had been in use and simply left neglected & uncleaned for months too.

RESTORATION also easily indicates the useage of EE due the repeated sequence of a determined pre-fixed set of numbers ahead of the rest of the scrambled digits for each file EE has erased.

So while i'm no expert in this field, this can leave open an area of suspicion for a forensic investigator IMO.

BTW, oddly enough, those 10,000 or so deleted files that RESTORATION cleaned up did however surprise me, because it's done in the time i've taken to type this reply.

That's impressive! Given my normal routine of only a few hundred deleted files normally would take hours on my machine.

So, i'm at a loss to explain that one.

EASTER

 

Easter - Thank you very much for your post regarding the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of Evidence Eliminator. It was an entertaining read, especially given some of the opinions in this thread.
I am curious, however, what your findings would be of BCWipe. As you may know, I just purchased it and am rather skeptically enthusiastic about its effectiveness. If you are able to couple you please test BCWipe in the same manner in which you did EE? That would be very muxh appreciated,

Nate

 

Hi n8chavez

I will do just that becuase i'm curious myself how up or down it can perform.

I only use these for nothing more than squeezing out some performance gains wherever i can notice them, so i'll take it for a run too and see what develops for us.

I'm DUMBFOUNDED AND still floored with EE, normally on a simple routine wipe of even 360 or 700 deleted files i always have to go off for hours after killing explorer to make it run a bit faster, but after a run with EE RESTORATION literally took less than 10 minutes to fully complete its run compared to the usual hours i have to wait for it to complete.

EASTER

 

Easter, can you precisely describe what the “Deletes Completely” functionality of RESTORATION does? Maybe quoting a section from the program’s help file would be beneficial?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​

N8chavez, have you been able to empirically ascertain whether or not BCWipe destroys the name of a file during the process of erasing a file?

Thank you.

 

Hi Pleonasm

No one would like that more than me but it has none. All i been able to gather is that the developer is of Japanese decent and as far as i know this is the only release of it's kind ever released by him.

I would be quite interested myself in at least knowing something of how it functions because it works flawless for me without end and not one single issue whatsoever.