Recovering deleted wallet/files from HDD

[examplens]

Interesting discussion here. I have had cases like this where users were concerned about the possibility of unauthorized duplication of data.
as far as I know, it was enough to do low-level format, then 100% disk capacity is filled with some garbage (usually pornography) and this cycle is repeated two or three times depending on the level of paranoia.

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[Ultegra134]

Interesting discussion here. I have had cases like this where users were concerned about the possibility of unauthorized duplication of data.
as far as I know, it was enough to do low-level format, then 100% disk capacity is filled with some garbage (usually pornography) and this cycle is repeated two or three times depending on the level of paranoia.

I wasn't really concerned before I made this thread, the other users here warned me about the dangers of leaving a computer unattended, especially to a technician. I wasn't too concerned about my Metamask wallet, since it's encrypted and requires my password, the Bitcoin one though was at a higher risk.

Thinking back to it, i shouldn't have handed my laptop without removing the HDD, which was merely a two minute job.

[Welsh]

I wasn't really concerned before I made this thread, the other users here warned me about the dangers of leaving a computer unattended, especially to a technician. I wasn't too concerned about my Metamask wallet, since it's encrypted and requires my password, the Bitcoin one though was at a higher risk.

Thinking back to it, i shouldn't have handed my laptop without removing the HDD, which was merely a two minute job.

Yeah, my personal rule set is never include your hard drive with the laptop when you're offloading it to someone else. You don't know what people's intentions are, though most will likely be innocent, and wouldn't even think about checking for previous data. Then, the more, and more they use it the less likely it becomes to recover anything substantial.

If you are purchasing old hard drives it is usually enough to wipe the hard drive via a format, and not worry too much about malicious code. Though, there is a small amount of risk involved with that too. If you're offloading your own computer, and the hard drive has to be included for whatever reason, then I would recommend writing 0's to it, with multiple checks. You can do this within Linux or you can use a program like DBAN if you wish.

[Ultegra134]

I wasn't really concerned before I made this thread, the other users here warned me about the dangers of leaving a computer unattended, especially to a technician. I wasn't too concerned about my Metamask wallet, since it's encrypted and requires my password, the Bitcoin one though was at a higher risk.

Thinking back to it, i shouldn't have handed my laptop without removing the HDD, which was merely a two minute job.

Yeah, my personal rule set is never include your hard drive with the laptop when you're offloading it to someone else. You don't know what people's intentions are, though most will likely be innocent, and wouldn't even think about checking for previous data. Then, the more, and more they use it the less likely it becomes to recover anything substantial.

If you are purchasing old hard drives it is usually enough to wipe the hard drive via a format, and not worry too much about malicious code. Though, there is a small amount of risk involved with that too. If you're offloading your own computer, and the hard drive has to be included for whatever reason, then I would recommend writing 0's to it, with multiple checks. You can do this within Linux or you can use a program like DBAN if you wish.

Thanks for your feedback, it's definitely a concerning matter, to be honest, I didn't even think about checking the hard drive, when I bought this refurbished  laptop, (HDD was used, so I would probably find something if I was willing to), but it didn't even cross my mind to snoop into someone's files like that.

I haven't made up my mind yet, on whether to sell it or not, but I appreciate your feedback regarding the HDD overwriting.

[fillippone]

If you're offloading your own computer, and the hard drive has to be included for whatever reason, then I would recommend writing 0's to it, with multiple checks. You can do this within Linux or you can use a program like DBAN if you wish.

Great advice.
I have been doing that since a long time. Usually I am declaring this to the buyer stating only that "HDD has just been formatted for YOUR convenience". They even look quite pleased by this innocent lie.

[larry_vw_1955]

If you're offloading your own computer, and the hard drive has to be included for whatever reason, then I would recommend writing 0's to it, with multiple checks. You can do this within Linux or you can use a program like DBAN if you wish.

That's a much better solution for the environment than destroying a perfectly good hard drive. IMO, it's kind of the height of conceit to destroy a perfectly good hard drive. Remember guys, someone out there needs that hard drive. 

[QuickAccount]

If you're offloading your own computer, and the hard drive has to be included for whatever reason, then I would recommend writing 0's to it, with multiple checks. You can do this within Linux or you can use a program like DBAN if you wish.

That's a much better solution for the environment than destroying a perfectly good hard drive. IMO, it's kind of the height of conceit to destroy a perfectly good hard drive. Remember guys, someone out there needs that hard drive.  

I disagree with this.

Recovering data from a Hard drive that has been "wiped" isnt hard. When I bought an ssd to replace my computer's hard drive, I overwrote everything on it, then went out to the driveway and slammed it with a hammer until I could hear the disk plates rattling inside. No data is every coming out of that drive. Even if you overwrite "everything" data is still recoverable with highly accessible software such as this one off of github:

https://github.com/qayshp/TestDisk

[BitMaxz]

I second this.

Recovering data from a Hard drive that has been "wiped" isnt hard. When I bought an ssd to replace my computer's hard drive, I overwrote everything on it, then went out to the driveway and slammed it with a hammer until I could hear the disk plates rattling inside. No data is every coming out of that drive. Even if you overwrite "everything" data is still recoverable with highly accessible software such as this one off of github:

https://github.com/qayshp/TestDisk

Have you checked the GitHub page it was developed years ago which is very old?

And they only support Windows NT/2K/XP for NTFS drive so do you think you can recover files from Windows 7 and up?
That tool is outdated you can't just easily recover files using that tool you should use a tool that is updated and support almost all newer OS.

[nc50lc]

If you're offloading your own computer, and the hard drive has to be included for whatever reason, then I would recommend writing 0's to it, with multiple checks. You can do this within Linux or you can use a program like DBAN if you wish.

That's a much better solution for the environment than destroying a perfectly good hard drive. IMO, it's kind of the height of conceit to destroy a perfectly good hard drive. Remember guys, someone out there needs that hard drive.  :D

I second this.

-snip- Even if you overwrite "everything" data is still recoverable with highly accessible software such as this one off of github:

You second~ed the replies yet you've countered their points :/

Anyways, what they meant by "writing 0's" is to 'low-level format' the drives which will turn all of the data on the drive into 0's (binary: 0 or 1).
There's nothing recoverable after that, your example software can only restore deleted files or a formatted drive, those are files which aren't really deleted but flagged as "overwritable".

[HCP]

A very confusing answer to be sure...

User1: "It's bad for the environment to destroy perfectly functional drives, you should zero it and reuse it"
User2: "I agree, I smashed my harddrive with a hammer"

Ummm what??!?


Still, the amount of time required to properly zerofill a drive can be quite massive... especially when you're talking Terabyte+ sized drives!    whereas... 5 minutes and a hammer? 

[nc50lc]

Still, the amount of time required to properly zerofill a drive can be quite massive... especially when you're talking Terabyte+ sized drives!    whereas... 5 minutes and a hammer?  

Yeah, last time I zero-filled a 500GB WD Hard Drive, it took more or less 3 hours if my memory serves me right (that was 3 years ago).
Double that for a 1TB same speed HDD; although, the amount of time is still inconsequential if you want to re-use the disk.

[larry_vw_1955]

A very confusing answer to be sure...

User1: "It's bad for the environment to destroy perfectly functional drives, you should zero it and reuse it"
User2: "I agree, I smashed my harddrive with a hammer"

Ummm what??!?


Still, the amount of time required to properly zerofill a drive can be quite massive... especially when you're talking Terabyte+ sized drives!    whereas... 5 minutes and a hammer? 

a strong enough magnet should do the trick. in seconds.

[QuickAccount]

A very confusing answer to be sure...

User1: "It's bad for the environment to destroy perfectly functional drives, you should zero it and reuse it"
User2: "I agree, I smashed my harddrive with a hammer"

Ummm what??!?


Still, the amount of time required to properly zerofill a drive can be quite massive... especially when you're talking Terabyte+ sized drives!    whereas... 5 minutes and a hammer? 

a strong enough magnet should do the trick. in seconds.

The reason I use a hammer is because If I can hear the disks rattling inside, I know the job is done and that the data cant be recovered.

[Ultegra134]

A very confusing answer to be sure...

User1: "It's bad for the environment to destroy perfectly functional drives, you should zero it and reuse it"
User2: "I agree, I smashed my harddrive with a hammer"

Ummm what??!?


Still, the amount of time required to properly zerofill a drive can be quite massive... especially when you're talking Terabyte+ sized drives!    whereas... 5 minutes and a hammer? 

a strong enough magnet should do the trick. in seconds.

The reason I use a hammer is because If I can hear the disks rattling inside, I know the job is done and that the data cant be recovered.

If I were to hammer them, I'd just keep them aside. Not keen on generating electrical/hardware waste. You could potentially use them as a backup, or an external HDD, I don't see the reason to smash them.