Re: Tool to wipe unused disk space?

Gufo <gufo@xxxxxxxxx> (07-01-19 19:43:06):

Thanks Gufo. If I understand correctly, dd makes a big file full of
zeroes.

Yes, and it fills completely the free space.

No, see below.


Do you think I could do what you suggest without booting from a CD,
or would it be less safe? One of the problems I'm having is that I
can't access the BIOS any more, so I can only boot from the internal
HD.

If the free space you want erased is on the same partition of the root
file system it's not a clever idea.
If the root file system and /var are on different partiton than the
one you're gonna fill there's no problem.

This will not work, since it only covers _totally_ unused blocks with
zeros. If a block is used only partly, then that block remains
untouched. The most secure way is to backup the data somewhere else and
then shred(1) the partition, before putting your data back.

Or best, remove your hard-drive completely, if it isn't needed.


Regards,
E.S.
.

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