Lord777
Professional
- Messages
- 2,577
- Reaction score
- 1,556
- Points
- 113
We burn to the fullest
It's not a secret for anyone that to completely and irrevocably delete information from a digital medium, simply select a file and press the "del" button or use the "rm" command. It is not so easy to prevent smart and meticulous guys from recovering deleted files from your media, and sometimes it requires elegant solutions.
Today we will try to figure out how to destroy data not only completely, but also with a sense of style while good feds officers, slandered businessmen and people just offended by your sense of humor test your front door for strength.
What can be done in order not to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, worrying about the safety of personal or corporate information - right under the cut.
The "traditional" way. Coercive force
This method is as simple as an ax, and also reliable. For the complete and irreversible erasure of all data, it is necessary to create a magnetic field of such an intensity that the ferromagnet will simply demagnetize.
The value of the magnetic field strength required for complete demagnetization of the ferromagnet is called the coercive force.
For those who want to know more:
For those who do not have enough Wikipedia, you can read about ferromagnets and coercive force by clicking on the link.
But this is for the most curious, and we will continue.
So what do we need to use this method?
We already have a ferromagnet - this is your favorite disc with very important data, or rather a thin layer of chromium dioxide applied to the plates of the "pancakes". It is this thin layer that is responsible for storing information that should not fall into the hands of crooks and enemies of the people.
The only thing left to do is to obtain a magnetic field of the required intensity.
The magnetic field created by a current-carrying wire is directly proportional to the current flowing in the conductor. Therefore, in order to get a higher current to demagnetize the hard drive, you will need a large voltage and a wire with a larger cross section.
Despite the fact that the domains of the ferromagnet are relatively "lazy", a short current pulse should be enough to demagnetize the disk. Therefore, to store the required amount of energy, a capacitor bank is quite suitable. We connect capacitors in parallel to increase the capacity. And for simplicity of design, we connect them directly to the network through the diode bridge. Perhaps not the most elegant solution, but quite simple. On the other hand, we solder a wire wrapped around the hard drive to the capacitors. And let's not forget about the power button.
True, I did not have time to run to the radio components store and put it all together.
It turns out that a similar scheme has already been implemented and fully described in the magazine "Hacker" as far back as 2006. And the author of this article is writing this article. This device was assembled from the remains of a power supply unit, a red button and a mysterious part called "soviet conder".
The schematic diagram of the device did not differ much from my efforts. The resulting design destroyed the discs with a loud pop, provocatively splashing metal when the wires were shorted.
Well, it turns out that this method also cannot be called the safest. But the disks after the operation of this device, although they had no visible damage, refused to be detected in the BIOS.
Schematic diagram of the device in 3D:
The same coil, the capacitor bank, which is charged from its rectifier (not pictured), and the controller.
However, our homemade one is dangerous, somewhere difficult to manufacture. But there is a more reliable way. Do you want to burn? I have them!
Destroy at any cost
As Ecclesiastes wrote, "There is a time for everything, and a time for every thing under the sky: ... a time to throw stones, and a time to collect stones."
There is a time to accumulate information, and there is a time when it is necessary to destroy it irrevocably. Sometimes circumstances develop in such a way that it is necessary to get rid of some data quickly and reliably. This modest opus is devoted to how to get rid of information on the HDD, and at the same time from the hard drive itself.
If I were suddenly offered to destroy the hard disk with all its contents, then consciousness would instantly give an answer: "burn it!", And my hands would reach out to the propane-butane burner. From a physical point of view, there is a certain reason for this, since the maximum flame temperature can reach 1300 degrees Celsius, and the aluminum plates of the hard disk will begin to melt at a temperature of about 660 degrees Celsius. It should be noted that in practice this method will cause a lot of inconvenience, and it will take a lot of time.
However, I still could not deny myself the pleasure of melting the disc and decided to start auto-da-fe. To do this, I needed the following:
The disc is completely ready for the procedure.
Then, to heighten the fun, we turn on the power to the disk. The pancake starts spinning fervently. I raise the burner, and a blue flame licks the shiny surface of the pancake. In the first second, the disc becomes covered with condensation, but after a moment it becomes smooth and shiny again like a mirror.
The very beginning of the process.
After a while, the pancake expands, and the rocker arm begins to cut circles on the surface of the disc.
After 5 minutes, the disc stops - it seems that the spindle motor could not stand it. At this point, we pull out the power from the disk so that the wires do not get in the way at hand.
The seventh minute of the experiment has gone, it seems that the disc has begun to give up.
And then I observe a phenomenon completely unexpected for me. Aluminum pancake coatings withstand hellish heat much better than the plate itself. The place of heating becomes covered with ripples, begins to float, but completely refuses to lose its shape completely and turn into a puddle of metal. That's so bad luck.
The surface of the pancake floats, but continues to hold its shape.
But it's too late to retreat, so we continue to shamelessly warm everything that comes to hand: a spindle, a pancake, an actuator - nothing escapes a terrible fate. Soon the disc warms up thoroughly and the board located on the back side starts to smoke. Then it bursts into yellow flame.
Fire as it is.
“We’ll start a fire like that,” I say to the operator.
- Already arranged! He laughs back.
The room begins to fill with acrid smoke, with a pungent flavor of phenolic resins.
Meanwhile, the stopwatch shows 15:52. The experiment could have been completed, but instead, at the 17th minute, we go all-in and light the stove burner under the disk.
Further events can be described with one single phrase: "wild frenzy."
At the 20th minute, the operator's patience ends, and he checks the strength of the pancake with a knife. Under the pressure of physical and thermal influences, the disc begins to give up and crumble, but only where the knife has been, in other places the disc still tries to maintain its original shape.
Combined method of information destruction.
Throwing aside the knife, my companion is also armed with a torch. We shoot one by one, holding a burner in one hand and a camera in the other.
The final moments of madness look surprisingly beautiful - the disc has become like a flower with blue-green petals.
28 minutes - the "experiment" is over.
The disc lies motionless and shows no signs of life. It doesn't look very good.
The hard drive is a little out of shape.
On the back surface of the case, a rather amusing pattern turned out, vaguely reminiscent of a frosty pattern on the windows.
Honestly, melting a hard drive to such a state is not necessary at all. It is enough just to reach the Curie point. This is the temperature at which thermal motion will destroy the ordered arrangement of the domains of the ferromagnet. In this case, the information stored on the disk should disappear (But this is not certain). For chromium dioxide, whose film is most commonly used for storing data on hard drives, the Curie temperature is 386⁰K. But I am a dark person, so I melted everything to the ground. Moreover, this approach guarantees the impossibility of data recovery. But it does not guarantee that molten aluminum will not manage to drip into your slipper.
However, it is worth noting that after the collapse of the Columbia shuttle, the disk that descended on a fiery chariot and hit the earthly firmament still contained information that was almost completely restored.
Drive from the shuttle.
Therefore, perhaps our zeal was not so in vain.
True, the Winchester we killed turned out to be with only one pancake. It was chosen randomly from several failed HDDs, and this fact came as a complete surprise to us. Therefore, how much the pancakes hiding at the wall are fried, we no longer know.
In fact, a little imagination and knowledge of the laws of physics will help you find a whole bunch of ways to destroy disks, but after the experiment, I would think three times before putting them into practice. Do not forget that you can always trivially erase data, and then write over them new ones or just a random set of zeros and ones. This method of destroying data, despite the fact that it is terribly slow, ensures the safety of your hard drive.
Conclusion
So what do we have at the end?
You can always destroy the disc with your own hands using simple improvised means. True, this option is only suitable if you have a supply of unnecessary disks, and also want to spend your time in an unusual way and try a new type of leisure. In practice, this method is more than useless, and moreover, it can be dangerous to your health.
A self-assembled destroyer, like the first option, is more suitable for while away dark winter evenings than for its intended use.
The third and, perhaps, the only worthy option is the purchase of a ready-made device with great functionality and a proven design. Although this is certainly not our method.
It's not a secret for anyone that to completely and irrevocably delete information from a digital medium, simply select a file and press the "del" button or use the "rm" command. It is not so easy to prevent smart and meticulous guys from recovering deleted files from your media, and sometimes it requires elegant solutions.
Today we will try to figure out how to destroy data not only completely, but also with a sense of style while good feds officers, slandered businessmen and people just offended by your sense of humor test your front door for strength.
What can be done in order not to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, worrying about the safety of personal or corporate information - right under the cut.
The "traditional" way. Coercive force
This method is as simple as an ax, and also reliable. For the complete and irreversible erasure of all data, it is necessary to create a magnetic field of such an intensity that the ferromagnet will simply demagnetize.
The value of the magnetic field strength required for complete demagnetization of the ferromagnet is called the coercive force.
For those who want to know more:
For those who do not have enough Wikipedia, you can read about ferromagnets and coercive force by clicking on the link.
But this is for the most curious, and we will continue.
So what do we need to use this method?
We already have a ferromagnet - this is your favorite disc with very important data, or rather a thin layer of chromium dioxide applied to the plates of the "pancakes". It is this thin layer that is responsible for storing information that should not fall into the hands of crooks and enemies of the people.
The only thing left to do is to obtain a magnetic field of the required intensity.
The magnetic field created by a current-carrying wire is directly proportional to the current flowing in the conductor. Therefore, in order to get a higher current to demagnetize the hard drive, you will need a large voltage and a wire with a larger cross section.
Despite the fact that the domains of the ferromagnet are relatively "lazy", a short current pulse should be enough to demagnetize the disk. Therefore, to store the required amount of energy, a capacitor bank is quite suitable. We connect capacitors in parallel to increase the capacity. And for simplicity of design, we connect them directly to the network through the diode bridge. Perhaps not the most elegant solution, but quite simple. On the other hand, we solder a wire wrapped around the hard drive to the capacitors. And let's not forget about the power button.
True, I did not have time to run to the radio components store and put it all together.
It turns out that a similar scheme has already been implemented and fully described in the magazine "Hacker" as far back as 2006. And the author of this article is writing this article. This device was assembled from the remains of a power supply unit, a red button and a mysterious part called "soviet conder".
The schematic diagram of the device did not differ much from my efforts. The resulting design destroyed the discs with a loud pop, provocatively splashing metal when the wires were shorted.
Well, it turns out that this method also cannot be called the safest. But the disks after the operation of this device, although they had no visible damage, refused to be detected in the BIOS.
Since the article recommended disconnecting the device from the mains when capacitors are discharged, I added a second switch to my circuit. As a result, it took the following form:
Schematic diagram of the device in 3D:
- Diode bridge
- Capacitor bank
- Sacrificial disc
- Switches
The same coil, the capacitor bank, which is charged from its rectifier (not pictured), and the controller.
However, our homemade one is dangerous, somewhere difficult to manufacture. But there is a more reliable way. Do you want to burn? I have them!
Destroy at any cost
As Ecclesiastes wrote, "There is a time for everything, and a time for every thing under the sky: ... a time to throw stones, and a time to collect stones."
There is a time to accumulate information, and there is a time when it is necessary to destroy it irrevocably. Sometimes circumstances develop in such a way that it is necessary to get rid of some data quickly and reliably. This modest opus is devoted to how to get rid of information on the HDD, and at the same time from the hard drive itself.
If I were suddenly offered to destroy the hard disk with all its contents, then consciousness would instantly give an answer: "burn it!", And my hands would reach out to the propane-butane burner. From a physical point of view, there is a certain reason for this, since the maximum flame temperature can reach 1300 degrees Celsius, and the aluminum plates of the hard disk will begin to melt at a temperature of about 660 degrees Celsius. It should be noted that in practice this method will cause a lot of inconvenience, and it will take a lot of time.
However, I still could not deny myself the pleasure of melting the disc and decided to start auto-da-fe. To do this, I needed the following:
- A disc that will suffer for our sins;
- Gas burner and gas cylinder for it;
- A good friend who agreed to be the operator.
- It was decided to burn the disc with the stopwatch on in order to at least roughly estimate the time it takes to destroy the disc in this way.
The disc is completely ready for the procedure.
Then, to heighten the fun, we turn on the power to the disk. The pancake starts spinning fervently. I raise the burner, and a blue flame licks the shiny surface of the pancake. In the first second, the disc becomes covered with condensation, but after a moment it becomes smooth and shiny again like a mirror.
The very beginning of the process.
After a while, the pancake expands, and the rocker arm begins to cut circles on the surface of the disc.
After 5 minutes, the disc stops - it seems that the spindle motor could not stand it. At this point, we pull out the power from the disk so that the wires do not get in the way at hand.
The seventh minute of the experiment has gone, it seems that the disc has begun to give up.
And then I observe a phenomenon completely unexpected for me. Aluminum pancake coatings withstand hellish heat much better than the plate itself. The place of heating becomes covered with ripples, begins to float, but completely refuses to lose its shape completely and turn into a puddle of metal. That's so bad luck.
The surface of the pancake floats, but continues to hold its shape.
But it's too late to retreat, so we continue to shamelessly warm everything that comes to hand: a spindle, a pancake, an actuator - nothing escapes a terrible fate. Soon the disc warms up thoroughly and the board located on the back side starts to smoke. Then it bursts into yellow flame.
Fire as it is.
“We’ll start a fire like that,” I say to the operator.
- Already arranged! He laughs back.
The room begins to fill with acrid smoke, with a pungent flavor of phenolic resins.
Meanwhile, the stopwatch shows 15:52. The experiment could have been completed, but instead, at the 17th minute, we go all-in and light the stove burner under the disk.
Further events can be described with one single phrase: "wild frenzy."
At the 20th minute, the operator's patience ends, and he checks the strength of the pancake with a knife. Under the pressure of physical and thermal influences, the disc begins to give up and crumble, but only where the knife has been, in other places the disc still tries to maintain its original shape.
Combined method of information destruction.
Throwing aside the knife, my companion is also armed with a torch. We shoot one by one, holding a burner in one hand and a camera in the other.
The final moments of madness look surprisingly beautiful - the disc has become like a flower with blue-green petals.
28 minutes - the "experiment" is over.
The disc lies motionless and shows no signs of life. It doesn't look very good.
The hard drive is a little out of shape.
On the back surface of the case, a rather amusing pattern turned out, vaguely reminiscent of a frosty pattern on the windows.
Honestly, melting a hard drive to such a state is not necessary at all. It is enough just to reach the Curie point. This is the temperature at which thermal motion will destroy the ordered arrangement of the domains of the ferromagnet. In this case, the information stored on the disk should disappear (But this is not certain). For chromium dioxide, whose film is most commonly used for storing data on hard drives, the Curie temperature is 386⁰K. But I am a dark person, so I melted everything to the ground. Moreover, this approach guarantees the impossibility of data recovery. But it does not guarantee that molten aluminum will not manage to drip into your slipper.
However, it is worth noting that after the collapse of the Columbia shuttle, the disk that descended on a fiery chariot and hit the earthly firmament still contained information that was almost completely restored.
Drive from the shuttle.
Therefore, perhaps our zeal was not so in vain.
True, the Winchester we killed turned out to be with only one pancake. It was chosen randomly from several failed HDDs, and this fact came as a complete surprise to us. Therefore, how much the pancakes hiding at the wall are fried, we no longer know.
In fact, a little imagination and knowledge of the laws of physics will help you find a whole bunch of ways to destroy disks, but after the experiment, I would think three times before putting them into practice. Do not forget that you can always trivially erase data, and then write over them new ones or just a random set of zeros and ones. This method of destroying data, despite the fact that it is terribly slow, ensures the safety of your hard drive.
Conclusion
So what do we have at the end?
You can always destroy the disc with your own hands using simple improvised means. True, this option is only suitable if you have a supply of unnecessary disks, and also want to spend your time in an unusual way and try a new type of leisure. In practice, this method is more than useless, and moreover, it can be dangerous to your health.
A self-assembled destroyer, like the first option, is more suitable for while away dark winter evenings than for its intended use.
The third and, perhaps, the only worthy option is the purchase of a ready-made device with great functionality and a proven design. Although this is certainly not our method.
