Saturday, December 24, 2011

Permanently deleting personal data...

While preppers and survivalists are definitely concerned with digital OPSEC and some folks are worried about privacy or identity-theft in this age of digital data and information... few people actively take appropriate steps to protect themselves.


We recently discarded two older computers.  One was a mini-tower while the other was a laptop.  Before they went out to the road for trash pick-up, the gals and I removed the hard-drives.  Now I know there there are many utilities that can perform a Department of Defense (DOD) approved data wipe to "clean" the digital information from the hard-drives... but out here in the country, we have a simple utility that works just as well and is a lot more fun.


First, we make sure our utility is properly configured to permanently delete the data from the hard-drive.  An approximately half-inch group, three-quarters of an inch low at fifty yards from the prone position seems like a good configuration.  Nothing a little Kentucky windage won't correct on a .223 utility originally configured at a hundred yards.


Since this utility for permanently deleting data isn't approved by the manufacturer, the gals and I figure that we're probably going to void the warranty... but then again, I think the warranty already expired a while back.


After running the utility for a few minutes, the digital data on the hard-drive has been rendered permanently unrecoverable.  In this case, our utility was a Ruger MKII Stainless Steel All-Weather bolt-action rifle in .223 Remington loaded with Federal V-Shok .223 cartridges with 40-grain Nosler Ballistic Tips which work really well with with the one-in-twelve twist-rate.  In addition to data on hard-drives, it also seems to permanently delete groundhogs.

So, before you just throw away that old computer... take out the hard-drive, stop on by, and we'll be glad to help you with permanently deleting personal data...

4 comments:

  1. That's a great way to both delete your data and vent your frustration for every time the computer crashed while you needed to get something done at the same time.

    I delete my data on obsolescent computers in a similar manner, but tend towards using an Uzi for automatic data deletion.

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  2. Awesome! Do we need to make an appointment first? Happy Holidays to you and the gals

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  3. Having used the AR15 FMJ utility for this same pupose I can recommend the system.

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  4. I have the cheapest and most satisfying tool to safely delete my hard drive info with extreme enjoyment and knowing that it safely taken care of - my trusty 10 pound hammer, that is after I have removed those nice magnets inside - lol!

    Keep up with the articles I thoroughly enjoy them - South African fan

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