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Wipe Memory Stick

  • 20-12-2005 11:00pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,541 ✭✭✭


    Anyone know how to securely wipe a memory stick? I've used the format function on my digital camera but I can still recover files after this. Is there anyway or wiping it clean?

    formating it thru windows explorer fails.


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,528 ✭✭✭TomCo


    What about magnets?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 703 ✭✭✭SolarNexus


    TomCo wrote:
    What about magnets?
    memory sticks uses transistors, not magnetic particles -- that wont do anything.

    I'd assume its the same as any file system - get a proggie to wipe the partition


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,541 ✭✭✭irlrobins


    tried with disk management and it fails too....


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,528 ✭✭✭TomCo


    How about deleting all the stuff on it normally, then fill it to capacity with junk data overwriting whatever it is you've got on there.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,225 ✭✭✭Ciaran500


    You could do it by formating, filling the disk up with non snesitive information and formating again. EDIT: What he said ^^^

    But there should be a program to do it properly.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,528 ✭✭✭TomCo


    Is everyone thinking, "I wonder what sort of photos are on that stick?"

    Or is it just me?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 861 ✭✭✭yawnstretch


    I heard about a woman purchasing a mem stick 2nd hand in the states for her kids and it had undeleted pron vids included :D

    At least irlrobins is being more considerate ;)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,396 ✭✭✭✭Karoma


    TomCo wrote:
    Is everyone thinking, "I wonder what sort of photos are on that stick?"

    Or is it just me?

    Not me... I've dispatched my winged monkies to retrieve it.





    Ah. Just use PGP or similar with a secure erase function..


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 93,857 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    IIRC you don't need to overerase it as much as with a HDD

    utils are secure delete sdelete from sysinternals

    Format the disk - not a quick format
    or copy lots of safe stuff onto it - windows service packs are bulky

    HP have a utility that makes USB keys bootable if you PC has that option - it formats disk.

    Magnets pfffff :rolleyes: !
    Leave it for a few hours near a Cobolt 60 source, that should randomise the capacitors. ( Not sure if dipping it into liquid nitrogen would work )


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 78 ✭✭pdogs


    Sami Tolvanen's Eraser should also be able to "zero" a flash memory drive. You will need to format it afterwards and the HP utility already mentioned (or the Camera's own software) is probably best for doing that. Bear in mind that the more often you do this sort of thing the shorter the life of the drive will become.

    You can get eraser from http://www.tolvanen.com/eraser/download.shtml


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,618 ✭✭✭Civilian_Target


    I always like "Boot and Nuke." So simple, so effective. Just make sure you choose your pendrive, not one of your hard disks...


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,541 ✭✭✭irlrobins


    yea its not a pen drive. Its a memory stick that sony cameras use. So not sure if those progs will work. but I'll give it a shot later. Cheers


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,396 ✭✭✭✭Karoma


    irlrobins wrote:
    yea its not a pen drive. Its a memory stick that sony cameras use. So not sure if those progs will work. but I'll give it a shot later. Cheers
    I cannot see it making any difference once Windows detects and mounts it as a drive.. I know PGP from experience, will definitely do the job, and a file level (as opposed to a complete format) if needs be. [3 passes is more than sufficient:)]


    *awaits the winged-monkies return..


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,541 ✭✭✭irlrobins


    well tried wiping it using sdelete from sysinternal. It failed too. It said access to two hidden files was denied. The files look like they're put on the memory stick by default.

    Guess I leave it.
    Is everyone thinking, "I wonder what sort of photos are on that stick?"

    And no, there are no dodgy pics. I just came across a program that enabled you to recover images from the memory stick. I was surprised it was able to do this as I had done a format thru the camera. So obviously the format just alters the TOC and doesn't actaully delete the file. So wondered if a format using windows would work but when that failed it got me wondering how would u actaully securely wipe the memory stick.

    Thanks anyway guys.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 78 ✭✭pdogs


    So obviously the format just alters the TOC and doesn't actaully delete the file.
    There is normal formatting, quick formatting, wiping and low-level/factory formatting. Wiping or "zeroing" or "erasing" is often also called low-level formatting even though true low-level formatting is the preparation of the medium to make it ready and capable to have data written to it. There is unfortunately a lot of overlap with the nomenclature.

    Quick formatting really just simply deletes all files on a partition. Such deletion merely being the marking/flagging of the file or folder's attributes as deleted. Normal formatting clears and rewrites most of the metadata (mainly the boot sector and the two FAT tables in a FAT partition) but doesnt overwrite or zero the data on the partition. TOC is used with respect to optical media but not generally with magnetic or flash memory drives which mostly have FAT tables or a MFT (MasterFileTable) depending on the format type.

    Flash Memory is in any case a very different beast to magnetic media and needs to have anything written to it spead out evenly across the medium (to prevent its early failure) and to be erased in blocks or as a whole. Read about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory if it takes your fancy.

    OnBelay claims to low-level format (I guess meaning to erase) memory sticks so it could be worth a try. I don't know if the demo will format or whether it has to be purchased.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 78 ✭✭pdogs


    PS
    Thought I'd give OnBelay a whirl. Its a 15day trial and it did a nice job of a low-level factory erasure/format for me. No recoverable files afterwards.


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