Comments on: Drive eRazer™ for When You Need to Make Sure Your Data is Really Gone http://www.theappgap.com/drive-erazer%e2%84%a2-for-when-you-need-to-make-sure-your-data-is-really-gone.html Apps, Strategies, and Best Practices for Web-based work Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:56:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Jon Johnson http://www.theappgap.com/drive-erazer%e2%84%a2-for-when-you-need-to-make-sure-your-data-is-really-gone.html/comment-page-1#comment-37900 Jon Johnson Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:26:24 +0000 http://www.theappgap.com/?p=1851#comment-37900 "How is this different from any of the hundreds of free (and cheap) disk erasing software tools available?" Short Answer: Speed, ease of use, a more thorough erasure and no need for a dedicated computer. WiebeTech's Drive eRazer is more than twice as fast as most software tools, is simple to use, erases areas on the hard drive that many software apps don't even see and it doesn’t require a computer. More Detail: Yes, there are plenty of software drive wiping utilities, some free, many capable of multiple passes and, for certain basic applications, will hopefully work just fine. They're clearly better than not using anything at all. However, for anyone wanting to erase more than one drive, including IT professionals, digital forensics analysts and the legal/financial data handling industry, the faster performance of the Drive eRazer combined with DoD level data “clearing” and the fact it doesn’t tie up a computer for hours, makes the Drive eRazer an essential tool in the field as well as in the computer lab. Besides slower speeds and tying up a computer for hours, software solutions have other inherent problems. Software usually will not properly handle HPAs (host protected areas) and DCOs (device configuration overlay), which are portions of the drive invisible to the Operating System. Data resides in these areas and can even be hidden there, meaning the drive hasn’t been truly erased. Most software applications fail to address HPAs and DCOs altogether. Many software applications also cannot handle defective sectors due to techniques built into the drives to mask those defects from software. Another feature built into the firmware of modern hard drives (since 2001) that most software applications are unable to see is a command called "Secure Erase", which is a multiple-pass overwrite process that includes deliberate off-track writing to clear any drifting data in the otherwise untouched track margins on the drive platter. Secure Erase is a NIST certified method for wiping a hard drive. Software applications that overwrite an arbitrarily large number of times can still have recoverable data if the overwrite isn't directly over the original data or offset to cover "ghosting images". The Drive eRazer Pro model executes a multiple pass 'Secure Erase' procedure and also handles data on "bad blocks" better than software. Finally, software solutions often run on only one OS (i.e. Windows or Mac), requiring upgrades and forcing incompatibilities. For years, WiebeTech, a brand of CRU-DataPort, has made digital forensics solutions used by criminal investigators to gather data evidence from hard drives and other various storage media. Using that expertise, the Drive eRazer was also designed with ease of use and affordability to make true data security attainable by more than just the professional “power user”. Thank you for the question and I hope this information was helpful. Jon Johnson Executive Director, Marketing CRU-DataPort “How is this different from any of the hundreds of free (and cheap) disk erasing software tools available?”

Short Answer:
Speed, ease of use, a more thorough erasure and no need for a dedicated computer. WiebeTech’s Drive eRazer is more than twice as fast as most software tools, is simple to use, erases areas on the hard drive that many software apps don’t even see and it doesn’t require a computer.

More Detail:
Yes, there are plenty of software drive wiping utilities, some free, many capable of multiple passes and, for certain basic applications, will hopefully work just fine. They’re clearly better than not using anything at all.

However, for anyone wanting to erase more than one drive, including IT professionals, digital forensics analysts and the legal/financial data handling industry, the faster performance of the Drive eRazer combined with DoD level data “clearing” and the fact it doesn’t tie up a computer for hours, makes the Drive eRazer an essential tool in the field as well as in the computer lab.

Besides slower speeds and tying up a computer for hours, software solutions have other inherent problems. Software usually will not properly handle HPAs (host protected areas) and DCOs (device configuration overlay), which are portions of the drive invisible to the Operating System. Data resides in these areas and can even be hidden there, meaning the drive hasn’t been truly erased. Most software applications fail to address HPAs and DCOs altogether.

Many software applications also cannot handle defective sectors due to techniques built into the drives to mask those defects from software. Another feature built into the firmware of modern hard drives (since 2001) that most software applications are unable to see is a command called “Secure Erase”, which is a multiple-pass overwrite process that includes deliberate off-track writing to clear any drifting data in the otherwise untouched track margins on the drive platter. Secure Erase is a NIST certified method for wiping a hard drive. Software applications that overwrite an arbitrarily large number of times can still have recoverable data if the overwrite isn’t directly over the original data or offset to cover “ghosting images”. The Drive eRazer Pro model executes a multiple pass ‘Secure Erase’ procedure and also handles data on “bad blocks” better than software.

Finally, software solutions often run on only one OS (i.e. Windows or Mac), requiring upgrades and forcing incompatibilities.

For years, WiebeTech, a brand of CRU-DataPort, has made digital forensics solutions used by criminal investigators to gather data evidence from hard drives and other various storage media. Using that expertise, the Drive eRazer was also designed with ease of use and affordability to make true data security attainable by more than just the professional “power user”.

Thank you for the question and I hope this information was helpful.

Jon Johnson
Executive Director, Marketing
CRU-DataPort

]]> By: James Robertson http://www.theappgap.com/drive-erazer%e2%84%a2-for-when-you-need-to-make-sure-your-data-is-really-gone.html/comment-page-1#comment-36953 James Robertson Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:51:39 +0000 http://www.theappgap.com/?p=1851#comment-36953 How is this different from any of the hundreds of free (and cheap) disk erasing software tools available? Typically booting from a CD or equivalent, these do multi-pass erases to all sorts of standards. I know it's a funky looking piece of hardware, but isn't this just an advert? How is this different from any of the hundreds of free (and cheap) disk erasing software tools available? Typically booting from a CD or equivalent, these do multi-pass erases to all sorts of standards.

I know it’s a funky looking piece of hardware, but isn’t this just an advert?

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