File privacy / sensitive material / delete forever etc..?

condra

Hi all

Im glad to see this is a forum where people can actually ask questions and get answers without being dissed by oppressive mods on power trips or lonely regulars who hate to see any subject touched on more than once...

Anyways I have a couple of queries about privacy etc. Thanks in advance for any helpfull replies.

Well firstly Im a little unsure about deleting files forever and system restore. If I empty my recycle bin a file is not lost forever is it?
Im ok with deleting cookies and hostory etc but would like to be able to keep my computer "clean"
Basically, I want to know how best to delete "sensitive material" from my computer. Is it a good idea to turn off system restore?
Is there any freeware which will delete files forever. Is there such thing as a recycle bin which isnt restorable?

I find it annoying that if I look at some porn for 5 minutes, [after which point Im probably bored of it] its on my harddrive forever...

What do you good people use [apart from "i dont look at porn or have any sensitive material"] to keep the halo above your pc?

TIA
womoma

Chalk

i dont look at such filth, the best way to remove it would be to ask a local priest to forgive you.

or else you could try privacy eraser pro.

it clears all tracks.
properly deletes files.
and can write all blank space on your drive with 0s rather than just marking it as deleted.


deleting files, as above, windows marks the space as somewhere thats avaialbe to use, so a program can be used to discvover what was there before, hence writing zeros to the disk.

lazygit

If you have over 1gb ram it is more than likley safe to turn off your system page file.

Again if you have a large ammount of system ram you could create a ram drive and redirect your tempory internet folder to it, that way when you reboot all your cookies/jpgs/pages that are stored in your tempoary internet folder a gone.

Files empied from you recycle bin are easy to recover, it only takes a few mins. you can use freeware tools like Eraser http://www.tolvanen.com/eraser/ to delete files securley, again if the FBI come knocking on your door given time they may be able to recover some data.

The only secure way to erase your harddrive is open the drive and take out the disk platters, hit them a few times with a 20lbs sledge hammer, then cook them in a fire at 700degC+ .. then your sorted..

Kali

System restore only keeps track of Windows and application settings.. however cookies, history files etc. may well be stored here too when changes occur.

Normally when you delete a file it just removes the pointer to that file and marks it as free-space, what tools like diskwipe, sure delete, etc. do is wipe the free-space on a bit-by-bit level making it a lot harder to recover by convential means.. other more robust wiping tools will write a series of 1-0s to the space over and over.

Even data wiped as such can be recovered though with advanced techniques like MFM (magnetic force microscopy).. rest assured if your PC is looked over by professional technical forensic teams they will find the majority of data.

the_syco

Its possible to retrieve data that has been deleted, and also data from previously formatted drives, once you haven't written anything onto it.

If, for example, you wanted to ensure that files are totally gone, you'd have to delete them, then put files into the sectors where the previous files where, etc, and then the files that were there first would be pretty much gone.

I don't know exactly how it works, but I've been able to get stuff off a formatted drive, and also a drive where the MBR (Master Boot Record) was lost.

But I'm just an amatuer. If I had access to better tools, I'd say I could recover more stuff.

Finally, when I was recovering stuff, I also recovered stuff that was hidden beneath the stuff I was recovering. Goes to show; the Recycle Bin is not the end of that file.

Capt'n Midnight

rest2514 - file recovery util - not the best but it's free and will give you an indication of what's possible
http://www.tolvanen.com/eraser/ - overwrites free space - slow because it overwrites a paranoid number of times - be careful there is no undo from this.

Khannie

Condensed version of what the others said:

If you delete a file (even after emptying the recycle bin), it only removes the first letter of the filename and leaves the file itself untouched until you write over it by using up that hard drive space. This is a nice touch for people who accidentally delete stuff, but not great for covering your tracks.

To properly cover your tracks, you need to overwrite the disc sectors where that file was stored.

In the free software sticky there's a prog called privacy mantra: http://www.codeode.com/privacymantra/index.html

Not sure how good it is, but it's probably just the ticket for your needs.

Edit: Try the capt'ns eraser too.

condra

I just downloaded cute file shredder:
http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?9500000036737

ill check out those other links tho.

It seems so unfair that theres such a police/nanny/big brother approach to windows and the internet. It should be easy to delete a file forever and one shouldnt have to worry about how to "cover your tracks"

and god damn it if i want to satisfy my carnel desires in a responsible adult fashion with occassional viewing of scantily clad booby girls I should be able to do it without worrying about privacy. Its my computer not microsofts.

ok.. end of rant..

condra

:mad: oh one more thing.. about sensitive material.. im a windows xp home edition user.. i believe in xp pro you can have password protected folders.. is this true?

And is there a way of having a private folder in windows xp?
It would be nice to have a "my private stuff" folder in my documents for example.. password protected or whatever..but im sure windows would still be able to explore it... hmmm

In case youre wondering why the sudden privacy freak episode its because I recently got a new laptop which members of family will also be using for watching dvds and surfing and I really dont fancy anyone discovering anything "private" . . Id rather not set up different windows user accounts.

i just think sometimes the whole computer thing is so frustrating.. Lately anyways everything in the world of computers seems so unstable and cynical and frustrating - drivers, corruptions, broken links, broken downloads, free stuff thats not free, games that dont work, privacy, spam, usernames, passwords, cookies, adware, spyware, bundles, patches, bandwidth, americans, power tripping forums mods, money hungry scammers, gender defying chatters, bots, "noobs and lamerz", clicky regulars, plugins, credit cards, arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...... :mad: :mad: :mad: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

condra

any thoughts on the password protected folder thing?

NotMe

Have a look here:http://www.sharewareconnection.com/software.php?list=Hide+Folder+Freeware
Some of those programs look promising.

jayneemac

have a look here m8:

http://www.fspro.net/hide-folders-xp/index.html

proggy is called Hide Folders Xp & runs in the background (even in safe mode).
you can password protect any folder or even hide it altogether.

seems to do the trick.

alternatively you could setup restricted users a/c's for everyone who uses the machine and have your own a/c as Administrator.
but then again, that may seem like you are trying to hide something ;-)

Jaeger

What about a passworded archive file?

condra

http://www.eviltree.de/zoomquilt/zoom.htm

that did the trick...

it turned me into a zombie and now i dont care about nothin

lifebook

it doesnt really matter what ya use to "delete" stuff

we have an app in work that can recover a drives state from up to 22 formats.

AND

We can export every single layer to a SAN

I believe the safest way is a hammer and a centre punch straight through the platters


BUT THAT WOULD BE JUST PURE PARANOID

Ah the joys of working for a company that deals with governments exclusively

RicardoSmith

lifebook wrote:

....recover a drives state from up to 22 formats...

How is that possible? :eek:

lifebook

I really dont know how its done

its not that unusal though

there are apps available on the net to bring ya back up to 6 times

condra

its so messed up. i shud be able to delete somehing forever. just reinstalled windows. better try stay away from those noody ladies.

gobby

womoma wrote:

its so messed up. i shud be able to delete somehing forever. just reinstalled windows. better try stay away from those noody ladies.

Wouldnt worry bout it. Unless your family are nosy computer nerds then they arnt going to find anything.

Pinhead

.. Unless, like my brother, you have a folder entitled "Porn" on your desktop

gobby

Pinhead wrote:

.. Unless, like my brother, you have a folder entitled "Porn" on your desktop

rofl

condra

[in my best hungarian accent]
nohh ive got a folder in a folder in a folder in a folder called $$3data in a folder in vindows.. vell i used to.. before i got bored of porn.
it does happen.
its gotten so bad that now im turned on by not looking at porn- and have to have a continous supply of porn to stop me from getting rrrandy.

Vikings

Wrong type of board for this kind of talk mate....

condra

are you for real?

Vikings

I dont think so

Loco

i'de go for the hammer to disk platter technique

and yea hes for real.. you must make a seperate thread in Humour if you wish to add humour to your original topic.. sh!tehawk :rolleyes:

those folders are funny, to annoy my bro i found his secret folder, took a screeny of it and put it as the backround for the family to see :P :P

condra

my desensetisation to porn has now gotten so bad that I have to name all my folders porno names just to keep me from getting frisky at the thought of having no porn on my computer.

Wertz

Have you ever considered that the other users of the laptop are far too busy messing about on the net, possibly doing/viewing things you might disapprove of, to pay any attention to what it is you may have left in some obscure sector on your HDD?
Before I got to your apparent level of paranoia, I'd go to the "trouble" of setting up user accounts,and pword protecting your admin account...

Unless you're into paedophilia or some other sick illegal pr0n, it's highly unlikely that data recovery techniques are going to be used on the harddrive by any law enforcement agencies.
I agree with your views on how complex the whole file deletion thing is, but it's like that for a reason; we all have to live with it...

condra

nothing to do with anthing funked up - Im just amazed at how difficult it is to rid your computer of data. I guess the key to storing sensitive files would be to get a handy little key stick dongle thingy theyre dead cheap these days i must have a gander over at kuntplett

osmethod

Should balance you up....

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/geom/formatUtilities-c.html
http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html

don't forget... the isps also know one's ip address cached in their logs associated with where one's been visiting. if something grotesque is been continuously viewed by one..... well they can share this information with the relevant authorities....

osmethod

condra

you mean if i go to a knuckle fetish site and keep looking at one particular movie with big bruised knuckles over and over again they owners of the knuckle fetish site will tell the authorities that my IP address keeps lookin at knuckles863.mpg? ?

Wertz

The owners of any such site couldn't care less how many times you watch/stream/dl anything, but if that site is on a watch list by your ISP then continuous traffic to and from it to your IP address may arouse suspicions and lead to further action.
But if it's nothing more than normal run-of-the-mill pornography then it's extremely unlikely.


Who says I'm paranoid, and what business is it of their's anyway!?!

SouperComputer

Loco wrote:

i'de go for the hammer to disk platter technique

and yea hes for real.. you must make a seperate thread in Humour if you wish to add humour to your original topic.. sh!tehawk :rolleyes:

those folders are funny, to annoy my bro i found his secret folder, took a screeny of it and put it as the backround for the family to see :P :P

data can still be gotten from a drive that has had a drill through it! only way is to melt em! Or nuke em.

a random pattern of 1's n 0's 6times over is enough for most!

condra

what if you melted it down and mixed it with lead and coated it with gold and attached it to the top of NASAs misile thats gonna collide with that asteroid??

Would that do it?

Capt'n Midnight

IIRC the US Navy used to use a large electromagnet to degauss it's old drives.
'course you couldn't use the drives afterwards because the platters were bent.
(looks like it was a 2.5MW electromagnet, probably not suitable for use at home)

http://www.akdart.com/priv9.html "The best way to get rid of computer data is to take the hard drive and pound it with a hammer and throw it in a furnace,"

http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html remnant magnetization, also fluorescent techniques could be used on shards of a broken platter but.. http://www.runtime.org/recoverability.htm - link that says if platter becomes unbalanced data revovery is unlikley,

Anyone know the Curie Temperature for HDD magnetic material ?
http://www.tcd.ie/Physics/Magnetism/Research/halfmetals.php
For chromium dioxide it looks lke 393K-398K = 120C-125C
so it might be possible to make a HDD that could survive being baked in an oven to wipe it !

Other ways:
That isn't a military style erasure. Actual technique is more like this:
* open drive
* remove platters
* lightly stroke each platter surface with an angle grinder

Acid (though some platters are glass)

condra

or u cud just stop lookin at porn

LFCFan

was there not some bloke (guttman I think) who devised a way for software erasers to physically remove the magnetic history of data so it was impossibe for hardware or software recovery methods to get access to said data?

rsynnott

womoma wrote:

you mean if i go to a knuckle fetish site and keep looking at one particular movie with big bruised knuckles over and over again they owners of the knuckle fetish site will tell the authorities that my IP address keeps lookin at knuckles863.mpg? ?

Generally, unless you live in Saudi or somewhere, this is only an issue for looking at illegal stuff. In that case, the site could be required to hand over its records, or the ISP could be watching you. Which is the way it should be. If it's legal, tho, you don't have a problem.

Yep, it is in fact possible to recover data after a lot of these "data destroyer" programs have had their way with it, but it isn't easy. You need fancy equipment (see http://www.dansdata.com/io009.htm , a few letters down). Otherwise, stuff only overwriten a few times can apparently be recovered with software. Your best bet is simply to take the hard disk and use an oxy-acetyline flame on it