Do you wipe a computer HD after you buy it?

When it looks dirty...

 

Not that long ago, no one expected malware on brand new USB devices either. Right now I wouldn't be surprised to find malicious code on any new PC component that can be used for such purposes.

 

I usually reinstall Windows but not because of packaged malware.

 

Wow, this is interesting to see peoples preferences. The most interesting poll on Wilders for me in months. I'm going to vote no, because when I buy a factory sealed computer that's my protocol. Used computers & used HDDs I always wipe.

 

Always. Killdisk (just one pass zeros) -> install Windows. Just too much junk from the factory.

 

Same here.

 

Yes, sector-by-sector. It's important for assuring security, stability, and capacity.

 

Bought a new Gateway laptop last June, scanned it with MBAM, HMP, Avast, the blooming thing had a trojan. Wiped it clean, installed Windows 8, scans came back clean that time.

 

Are you sure it wasn't a false positive?

 

Always, even if the drive is purchased 'factory new'.

I recall a few years ago the revelation that Maxtor (and maybe other brands) 500 GB drives were being shipped from Thailand with a rootkit installed.
That activity was discovered but how many have not been ?

An infected hard drive in a used or preowned machine may be the reason the computer is for sale- the previous owner couldn't remove the malware or didn't care to.

In any case, wiping the drive SECURELY with PartImage or something similar is the only way to be reasonably certain that you are not inheriting spyware. It doesn't take all that long- even with the larger drives- to wipe a drive prior to storing your personal information on it.

 

In that sort of scenario, wiping of the host protected area may be necessary. Question is, how to verify it's cleaned unlike DBAN?

 

Oh come on!

 

But, if you install Windows on the drive, I presume the rootkit is no longer there?


That activity was discovered but how many have not been ?

I fail to see why this is needed, just doing a quick format and install of Windows should be all that you need to do.

 

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=290750
http://www.technibble.com/are-we-completely-wiping-that-hard-disk/
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/researchers-find-insecure-bios-rootkit-pre-loaded-in-laptops/3828
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootkit#Types

 

I normally boot a new computer with a Win7PE flash drive or ShadowProtect recovery disk to make a backup of the original system and I also boot it at least once to make the Windows recovery disks, then I wipe the hard drive and install another OS if I have something better in mind, or at the very least I re-partition the drive because I prefer a smaller system partition to make backups more convenient and I add linux mint, or some other linux, for a secondary OS.

For example, I did this to my current personal laptop to switch from Win 7 Home Premium that came with it to Win 7 Ultimate (from employer), but after SP1 came out I had to switch back because Win 7 Ultimate kept crashing each time I tried to update it and I was never able to solve the problem. I converted the Win 7 Ultimate (without SP1) to VHD so I can still boot to it from the boot menu or run it in VirtualBox, but I rarely use it anymore.

 

I do a zero write with BootIt Bare Metal. This is done to both make sure that the hard drive is clean and to fully exercise the new hard drive so that maybe any defects in hard drive will show up early so that I can return it.

 

The problem is most laptops and bigger oem desktops only come with a recovery partition. unless you have a windows disc from another machine You cannot nuke and do a fresh install.
For laptops I normally choose dell because they normally have an option for a windows disc so I simply delete the partitions from the windows disc and setup the machine as I like it.

 

Ran it on VirusTotal - 29 AVs said it was malware.

 

Considering the fact that they loaded lots of bloatware into the computer and there's no easier way to get rid of them all, yes. Yes I do. Reinstall the OS, format all the partitions, delete all the partitions, then format them all again after you created the partitions... again. It's one time only anyway.

 

It's not good when new computer is infected.

 

For Windows 7, you just need to download the ISO for Windows version you have from Digital River, and use that to do a clean install.

 

Ive even bought used HDDs and the only thing i do is thecquick format when installing Windows. Hahahaha

 

Same here with @Noob.

 

Hmmm, some people interpreted the question to mean a new computer with OS pre-installed, while others took it to mean a HDD purchased separately (which is what I was thinking of when I saw the title). I guess the distinction doesn't matter that much, though.

For a new computer, I'm not sure I've ever bothered to wipe it. But, I would be sure to reinstall the OS if I could, as it would remove any unwanted software and recovery partitions and allow me to partition it how I like. I haven't wiped separate HDDs either, but now I suppose I should.

I will do a secure erase for a SSD, and I'd probably do that now for HDDs as well. For the SSDs I've had though, I don't think it actually writes zeroes since it happens so quickly.

 

I always wipe a new HD after purchasing it.