Nwipe
nwipe is an open source tool for securely erasing data from hard drives by overwriting the data with random data patterns. It is designed to completely delete data to prevent recovery.
data-erasure
disk-wiping
secure-delete
overwrite
privacy
NWipe: Secure Data Erasure Tool
Open source tool for securely erasing data from hard drives by overwriting with random data patterns, designed to completely delete data and prevent recovery.
What is Nwipe?
nwipe is an open source and portable application used for securely erasing data from hard drives and storage devices. It works by overwriting the entire hard drive or individual partitions with random data patterns to completely erase the existing data, making it unrecoverable.
Some key features of nwipe include:
- Supports SATA, SAS, SCSI, USB, Firewire storage devices
- Able to erase full devices, partitions or only free disk space
- Multiple international standard erasure patterns like DoD 5220.22-M, Peter Gutmann's patterns
- Verify writes option to double check the wiping process
- Can resume interrupted wiping jobs
- Runs on Linux and can be compiled for Windows and macOS
- Free and open source software released under GPLv2
nwipe is commonly used when retiring old storage devices, selling disks, donating computers to erase sensitive information completely. The multiple passes with different data patterns help ensure secure data removal. It can integrate with partclone for supported file systems.
Nwipe Features
Features
- Securely overwrite and erase data from hard drives and storage media
- Supports multiple overwrite algorithms like DoD 5220.22-M, Peter Gutmann and more
- Can erase full drives, partitions or just free space
- Works with SATA, IDE, SCSI, USB, FIREWIRE and storage devices
- Open source and cross platform - works on Linux, Mac and Windows
- Can verify successful erasure of data after wiping
- Supports wiping SSDs and HDDs including ATA and SCSI interfaces
- Can be run from GUI or command line interface
- Customizable number of overwrite passes and patterns
Pricing
- Open Source
- Free
Pros
Secure and irreversible data erasure
Free and open source
Cross platform support
Supports wiping both HDDs and SSDs
Customizable overwrite algorithms
Can verify successful wiping
Active development and support
Cons
Slower than simple delete or format commands
May not work with some exotic storage devices or interfaces
Requires some technical knowledge to use
No official support offered
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HDShredder
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