Erasing stuff from computers

[Raineyrocks]

Does anyone know if this totally gets rid of stuff from your computer instead of just deleting it but keeping it stored "someplace"?

http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/


Download CCleaner 2.06.567     
CCleaner 2.06.567
Piriform - 2.62MB (Freeware)

   

CCleaner (formerly Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused and temporary files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster, more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space. The best part is that it's fast! (normally taking less than a second to run) and Free.

Cleans the following:

    * Internet Explorer Cache, History, Cookies, Index.dat.
    * Recycle Bin, Temporary files and Log files.
    * Recently opened URLs and files.
    * Third-party application temp files and recent file lists (MRUs).
      Including: Firefox, Opera, Media Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar, Netscape, Office XP, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce, WinZip and more...
    * Advanced Registry scanner and cleaner to remove unused and old entries.
      Including File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs, Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and more... Backup for registry clean.
    * Windows Startup tool.

If you like and use this software then it is polite to make a donation to the author.

[K. Darien Freeheart]

Seriously speaking, how important is it that nobody get access to the information?

Deleting internet history so somebody can't stumble over doesn't require programs, only the delete key.

If you're trying to delete things so that the government can't get it, that's a different story entirely and requires re-writing the ENTIRE hard drive with psuedo-random noise multiple times which requires your computer be inoperable for a while and is SLOW.

Even with multiple rewrites, if they REALLY wanted it is possible to use an electron microscope to reassemble data but that's very VERY unlikely to actually happen as those things are REALLY expensive.

[Kat Kanning]

You could take a big magnet to your hard drive if you REALLY want to get of everything. 

[J’raxis 270145]

One of the biggest scams online (and most popular vector for malware) are pieces of software like this.

The best thing is to use full disk encryption to begin with. Provided they don't acquire or guess your password, that's much more secure, because the plaintext data never made it to the disk to begin with.

[hook]

http://www.nationalexpositor.com/News/1128.html


Heiss - A CARELESS mistake by Microsoft programmers has revealed that special access codes prepared by the US National Security Agency have been secretly built into Windows. The NSA access system is built into every version of the Windows operating system now in use, except early releases of Windows 95 (and its predecessors). The discovery comes close on the heels of the revelations earlier this year that another US software giant, Lotus, had built an NSA "help information" trapdoor into its Notes system, and that security functions on other software systems had been deliberately crippled.

The first discovery of the new NSA access system was made two years ago by British researcher Dr Nicko van Someren. But it was only a few weeks ago when a second researcher rediscovered the access system. With it, he found the evidence linking it to NSA.

Computer security specialists have been aware for two years that unusual features are contained inside a standard Windows software "driver" used for security and encryption functions. The driver, called ADVAPI.DLL, enables and controls a range of security functions. If you use Windows, you will find it in the C:Windowssystem directory of your computer.

ADVAPI.DLL works closely with Microsoft Internet Explorer, but will only run cryptographic functions that the US governments allows Microsoft to export. That information is bad enough news, from a European point of view. Now, it turns out that ADVAPI will run special programmes inserted and controlled by NSA. As yet, no-one knows what these programmes are, or what they do.

Dr Nicko van Someren reported at last year's Crypto 98 conference that he had disassembled the ADVADPI driver. He found it contained two different keys. One was used by Microsoft to control the cryptographic functions enabled in Windows, in compliance with US export regulations. But the reason for building in a second key, or who owned it, remained a mystery.

A second key

Two weeks ago, a US security company came up with conclusive evidence that the second key belongs to NSA. Like Dr van Someren, Andrew Fernandez, chief scientist with Cryptonym of Morrisville, North Carolina, had been probing the presence and significance of the two keys. Then he checked the latest Service Pack release for Windows NT4, Service Pack 5. He found that Microsoft's developers had failed to remove or "strip" the debugging symbols used to test this software before they released it. Inside the code were the labels for the two keys. One was called "KEY". The other was called "NSAKEY".

Fernandes reported his re-discovery of the two CAPI keys, and their secret meaning, to "Advances in Cryptology, Crypto'99" conference held in Santa Barbara. According to those present at the conference, Windows developers attending the conference did not deny that the "NSA" key was built into their software. But they refused to talk about what the key did, or why it had been put there without users' knowledge.

A third key?!

But according to two witnesses attending the conference, even Microsoft's top crypto programmers were astonished to learn that the version of ADVAPI.DLL shipping with Windows 2000 contains not two, but three keys. Brian LaMachia, head of CAPI development at Microsoft was "stunned" to learn of these discoveries, by outsiders. The latest discovery by Dr van Someren is based on advanced search methods which test and report on the "entropy" of programming code.

Within the Microsoft organisation, access to Windows source code is said to be highly compartmentalized, making it easy for modifications to be inserted without the knowledge of even the respective product managers.

Researchers are divided about whether the NSA key could be intended to let US government users of Windows run classified cryptosystems on their machines or whether it is intended to open up anyone's and everyone's Windows computer to intelligence gathering techniques deployed by NSA's burgeoning corps of "information warriors".

According to Fernandez of Cryptonym, the result of having the secret key inside your Windows operating system "is that it is tremendously easier for the NSA to load unauthorized security services on all copies of Microsoft Windows, and once these security services are loaded, they can effectively compromise your entire operating system". The NSA key is contained inside all versions of Windows from Windows 95 OSR2 onwards.

"For non-American IT managers relying on Windows NT to operate highly secure data centres, this find is worrying", he added. "The US government is currently making it as difficult as possible for "strong" crypto to be used outside of the US. That they have also installed a cryptographic back-door in the world's most abundant operating system should send a strong message to foreign IT managers".

"How is an IT manager to feel when they learn that in every copy of Windows sold, Microsoft has a 'back door' for NSA - making it orders of magnitude easier for the US government to access your computer?" he asked.

Can the loophole be turned round against the snoopers?

Dr van Someren feels that the primary purpose of the NSA key inside Windows may be for legitimate US government use. But he says that there cannot be a legitimate explanation for the third key in Windows 2000 CAPI. "It looks more fishy", he said.

Fernandez believes that NSA's built-in loophole can be turned round against the snoopers. The NSA key inside CAPI can be replaced by your own key, and used to sign cryptographic security modules from overseas or unauthorised third parties, unapproved by Microsoft or the NSA. This is exactly what the US government has been trying to prevent. A demonstration "how to do it" program that replaces the NSA key can be found on Cryptonym's website.

According to one leading US cryptographer, the IT world should be thankful that the subversion of Windows by NSA has come to light before the arrival of CPUs that handles encrypted instruction sets. These would make the type of discoveries made this month impossible. "Had the next-generation CPU's with encrypted instruction sets already been deployed, we would have never found out about NSAKEY."

[J’raxis 270145]

You could take a big magnet to your hard drive if you REALLY want to get of everything. 

This is basically what professional data destruction companies do. The devices are called degaussers.

You can also just slag it if you want to get rid of everything, including the hard drive.

[Raineyrocks]

You could take a big magnet to your hard drive if you REALLY want to get of everything. 

This is basically what professional data destruction companies do. The devices are called degaussers.

You can also just slag it if you want to get rid of everything, including the hard drive.

I think I will probably just smash the damn thing if it ever comes to that, doesn't that just sound easier?

[J’raxis 270145]

You could take a big magnet to your hard drive if you REALLY want to get of everything. 

This is basically what professional data destruction companies do. The devices are called degaussers.

You can also just slag it if you want to get rid of everything, including the hard drive.

I think I will probably just smash the damn thing if it ever comes to that, doesn't that just sound easier?

The data on the platters (the magnetic disks inside the drive) would still be recoverable forensically. What they do to completely destroy old hard drives is to melt (slag) the platters.

[K. Darien Freeheart]

I have to agree with j'raxis's opinion. Those kinds of applications are vectors for malware.

If you REALLY, REALLY are concerned, you MUST have encrypted filesystems. Any data put on a hard drive CAN be retrieved with enough time and effort. Even encryption is technically flawed under the proper circumstances (i.e. IF your home were raided and your PC was on, they could drip it in a vat of liquid nitrogen and then examine the electrical state of your RAM to deterimine the decryption key (http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/02/21-0) which could then be used to unlock your data.

Security is only as strong as the weakest point in the link. ANYTHING downloaded or uploaded to the internet should be considered public since there are four or five handoffs at that point which allows 4 or 5 entities to potentially reconstruct the data.

Always keep in mind... The only way to keep a secret is to never share it.

[NJLiberty]

You all are right, the only secure hard drive is one that has been thoroughly destroyed. The data can be recovered even from hard drives that have been through ordinary fires. Pretty much all software that claims to wipe the drives clean still leaves it behind if they really want it. Encryption is great as far as it goes, but it is all vulnerable if they want it badly enough as has already been pointed out.

Computers are not secure unfortunately. Anything you put on one you have to assume can be retrieved by other parties...unless of course you can remove and destroy the drive before it is seized in the event you need to.

George

[error]

Rainey, what are the threats you are trying to mitigate?

[Raineyrocks]

Rainey, what are the threats you are trying to mitigate?

Oh nothing, I think just the ones that are in my head!  Mitigate?  Error, this is me your writing to what the heck is mitigate?  I guessed get rid of, right?