An eraser program destroys data on a hard drive, making it impossible to recover. It can be used to prepare a computer for transfer, remove sensitive data, or recycle a computer. Erasing the hard drive is important for security reasons, and can be done with an eraser program, physically destroying the drive, or degaussing it. Criminals also use eraser programs to hide their tracks.
An eraser program is software designed to remove data from a hard drive. Data erasure goes beyond erasing it, actually destroying the data so it can’t be recovered. Erasers, as they are known, can be used to prepare a computer for transfer between two individuals, to remove sensitive data from a computer so that it cannot be accessed, or to prepare a computer for recycling. Numerous free data wiping programs are available online from reputable sources, and it is also possible to purchase wiping programs.
When someone deletes a file by pressing “delete” or dragging it to the trash/trash, the computer removes the pointers to the file, but the data is still there. You can recover your data using a data recovery program and the process is not very difficult; even a novice can restore deleted data with the right program. This is a concern for people who handle sensitive data, and for people who want to give away or get rid of their computers without having to worry about someone resurrecting the personal data.
When an erasure program runs, the program overwrites the hard drive with meaningless data, overwriting previously deleted traces of information to clean up the hard drive. Eraser programs can perform up to seven passes of your hard drive to erase all information stored on the drive, making your computer totally usable, but free of personal data.
The ability to erase a hard drive with an eraser program rather than having to destroy it to remove data is important. Erasing the hard drive can also be done through physically destroying the drive or degaussing it, but these techniques also destroy the drive. With an erasure program, someone can give or sell a computer to someone else, donate a computer to a charitable cause, or send a computer in for recycling with the assurance that the data on the computer has been successfully removed.
Data erasers can also be used for applications such as actually deleting internet history and are sometimes used by criminals to hide their tracks. The increase in knowledge among law enforcement agencies about technology and the development of computer forensics as a specialty has forced criminals to become more creative in handling their sensitive and potentially implicating data. Clever criminals will run a deletion program on a computer used for questionable activities to reduce the risk of detection and to make themselves harder to prosecute.
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