Secure Data Shredding Simulator
Visualize data destruction. Calculate how long it takes to securely wipe hard drives using military-grade algorithms and estimate the cost of professional physical destruction services.
The Science of Secure Deletion
Deleting a file does not remove it from your hard drive; it simply marks the space as "available" in the file system table. The actual data remains until it is overwritten. To securely erase data, specialized software must write varying patterns of 0s and 1s over the entire storage area multiple times.
Common Algorithms
- Zero Pass (1 Pass): Fast but basic. Writes zeros over everything. Sufficient for most personal data on modern HDD.
- DoD 5220.22-M (3 Passes): The industry standard. Pass 1 writes zeros, Pass 2 writes ones, Pass 3 writes random characters. Makes recovery extremely difficult.
- Gutmann (35 Passes): developed in 1996 for older magnetic drives. Overkill for modern drives but legendary for its thoroughness.
SSD vs. HDD
Solid State Drives (SSDs) work differently. They use "Wear Leveling" to distribute data evenly. This means overwriting a file might not actually overwrite the original physical location immediately. For SSDs, the "Secure Erase" command built into the firmware (often triggered via BIOS or manufacturer tools) is the only truly secure method besides physical destruction.