How to verify secure deletion

Have there been any updates to this? I ask because I am currently stuck in my decision making process between sdelete and eraser. I like eraser. But for me there is something about command line driven utilities that I like. I guess I like the amount of control the user is given, and the fact that I can add and customize context menue entries for that utility. That was something Eraser could not do. I am curious as to the effectiveness of both of these; whether sdelete is better at what is claims than eraser or visa versa.

 

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Security/SDelete.mspx

"The reason that SDelete does not securely delete file names when cleaning disk free space is that deleting them would require direct manipulation of directory structures. Directory structures can have free space containing deleted file names, but the free directory space is not available for allocation to other files. Hence, SDelete has no way of allocating this free space so that it can securely overwrite it."

If you can live with the fact that file names won't be over-written by SDelete, then go for it.

If you can't live with that, then simply use both programs. Pete

 

Use LINUX to delete the files permanently in secure way , use dd command..

 

spy1,

The paragraph above the one you posted give somewhat conflicting information.

It would seem then that filenames are taken care of, but they are not "deleted" ujst overwritten; there would then be a bunch of files names AAA.AAA, or something to that effect. Am I correct here? Perhaps there is something I'm missing, but it seems to me that would be just as good as "deleting" the filenames because after using sdelete they would be effectively indecipherable.

 

Back at the Farm, we use a torch

 

Try a program like Hex Workshop from BreakPoint software. You can view the actual disk with this program by going to My Computer and right-clicking on the drive you want to verify had the file(s) erased. Then search for some text that was unique to that file and Hex Workshop will search your entire disk for that text. If it was not found, then the files you wanted to delete are GONE.

 

I personally respect Privacy Eraser Pro and E3 (Radsoft) the most. ottocart has a nice suggestion for verification.

 

The next time I need to wipe a HD I am going try the below.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/storage/?p=129

 

Isnt that the same as "Boot and Nuke" ?
http://dban.sourceforge.net/

 

Don't really know but I will try the app from your link as the one in my post didn't seem to do anything.

 

It's at http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/Hughes/SecureErase.html "Download Freeware Secure Erase Utility"