Re: [tlug] Disposing of hard drives

[Kalin KOZHUHAROV <me.kalin@example.com>]

On Thu, Apr 19, 2018 at 8:31 AM, Stephen J. Turnbull
<turnbull.stephen.fw@example.com> wrote:
> My wife pulled a hard drive from her office's computer (medical
> records, her boss didn't think taking any chances was a good idea) and
> we had a good time disassembling it.  I let her bang on the media a
> bit (good decision, she hasn't yelled at me since ;-).  I think the
> warrantee has been pretty well voided[1]. :-)
>
Media means the platters?

> Do the remains need special handling, or can we just drop them in the
> non-burnable gomi?
>
If platters are bent and scratched - all is fine. But keep the
magnets, they are strong and come in handy.

> Footnotes:
> [1]  Yeah, I know a specialist can probably still get something off
> the media if they really want to.  But the worrisome kind of
> specialist is more likely to phish the office, I think.
>
Bent and scratched platters (or with holes) in modern (>100GB) drives
are enough to prevent anyone reading it.

The easiest method of destruction is to punch a few holes through the
platters with an old (Philips, +) screwdriver and a hammer, without
disassembly.
This will both bend/warp and punch the platters. For an extra step,
smash the ICs on the controller board (single hammer blow is enough
usually).

BTW, I work with a data recovery company.

Cheers,
Kalin.