Recycle Bin options and passes

N

nLinked

New Member
Most people use the Erase Recycle Bin option when emptying the Recycle Bin with Eraser. But the latest version has many options and I have seen some posts about them.

But I wanted to ask 2 questions about it regarding passes.

1. Erase Recycle Bin does a single pass erase. But the default setting for deleting files is Gutmann. So why do so many people prefer the Erase Recycle Bin Option which only does one pass if they use Gutmann for files by default?

2. Also why does Gutmann not appear in the Recycle Bin context menu? I can see one called Library which does 35 passes like Gutmann does. Is this the Gutmann one? Why is it called Library?
 
Hi nLinked

Gutmann is an over paranoid wipe method. It was mainly created for very old inaccurate hardware, even Gutmann himself says it is unnecessary. If you really have something on your hard drive that you really shouldn’t then I suppose you may have a case for using it but for everyday people they don’t need it. The one pass for the recycle bin is secure enough for most people and doesn’t cause unnecessary wear on the hard drive. It’s a speed / security / risk thing, only you know your threat model.

I don’t know why you say the Gutmann method doesn’t appear in your recycle bin options. Have you tried the latest RC for Eraser ?
 
Thanks for your reply. I am using 5.85 non-beta, and I see one called Library, and it does 35 passes for the Recycle Bin. I assume that is the Gutmann one in the Bin's context menu?

My version recommends in the Help file that the Gutmann one is the default and other ones are less secure. I have read - as you say - that the Gutmann one should be used on older HDDs that are better off with 35 passes.

I have decided to use DoD 3 passes. Is this newer and supposedly better than the DoD 7 passes one?

Is the Pseduorandom data 1 pass one better that the newest DoD one?

I'm still new to this so hoping to choose one that satisfies speed and security.
 
Hi nLinked

If you are feeling adventurous you might want to try Eraser 5.86 RC1.

It is not Beta but also it isn’t final. I am using it now with no problems.

I have decided to use DoD 3 passes.
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That is a good compromise.

Is the Pseduorandom data 1 pass one better that the newest DoD one?
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I personally believe that pseudorandom is always better than a pattern wipe for wipe. I suppose that a 3 pass pattern wipe would be better than a single random wipe but only because of the number of passes. I think a 3 pass random would be better than a 3 pass pattern but that’s personal to me.

I'm still new to this so hoping to choose one that satisfies speed and security.
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I am considered reasonably paranoid and I only use a single random pass for everything. Why not search the Internet and try to find a case where someone / anyone has managed to recover data from a modern hard drive that has had a single random wipe performed on it. If you can find proof then you might want to consider a more conservative wipe method but until then a single random pass will be good enough.
 
I believe a single pattern is sufficient for a wipe pass because if you are writing the data in concentric circles (like front to back of disk) all "misalignments" if any on the disk will be pretty nicely dealt with. Basically it's the Gutmann theory, so perhaps it is invalid - but assuming modern disks still have the alignment inaccuracy, the continuous wipe should be fine.

If you feel safer with multiple passes, DoD 3 pass for free space wipe is good, I use 7 pass Schneier for on demand Data wipe (large amounts), Gutmann for small files

Joel
 
Joel said:
I believe a single pattern is sufficient for a wipe pass because if you are writing the data in concentric circles (like front to back of disk) all "misalignments" if any on the disk will be pretty nicely dealt with. Basically it's the Gutmann theory, so perhaps it is invalid - but assuming modern disks still have the alignment inaccuracy, the continuous wipe should be fine.

If you feel safer with multiple passes, DoD 3 pass for free space wipe is good, I use 7 pass Schneier for on demand Data wipe (large amounts), Gutmann for small files

Joel
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Well that's kinda nice to hear! Except for the one time a couple of weeks ago when I was optimizing stuff and decided to do aan erase of free disc space, my erases are always "small" files/folders (I guess small is relative, but stuff that doesn't take too much time with Gutmann), and I've always used Gutmann for them. If you also use it I would think you do so because it is still "maybe" more secure than other methods, and on small files the time required and stress on the hard drive isn't an issue.

Regards,

JoeB
 
Agreed!
 
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