Our data wiping policy
We run a secure data wipe on all of the computers we receive, we use a program designed to securely erase all hard disk until data is permanently removed and no longer recoverable, which is achieved by overwriting the data with random numbers generated by Mersenne twister or ISAAC (a PRNG). We do also recommend that donors clear data from their PCs using secure data wiping software prior to bringing them to our appeal sites. We suggest that you use a program which does a thorough cleaning of the content of your computers’ hard drive, making it impossible to recover the data. This may seem redundant, but it may give you more peace of mind. We can also issue certificate of data destruction (for a small administrative fee). Any hard drives that cannot be fully data wiped for whatever reason (surface errors, other faults causing the data wipe to fail) will be destroyed and recycled, and a certificate of destruction obtained.
Do it yourself? - There is a Freeware tool for data wiping
A free program called DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) is very suitable for data wiping your computer. Please note that all data on your computer's hard drive(s) will be lost once you run the program on it. Please ensure that you backup all of your data before you DBAN your computer. You should also always test your backup.
The DBAN website provides all suitable information relating to program include a FAQ section. Although DBAN is freeware, it is also open source meaning that anyone who wants to can view its source code. This, along with its popularity, ensures that it is both bug-free and free of any ill-intentioned spyware as the open source community filters and enhances it. You can find more information on using DBAN here.
Commercial Datawipe
We offer a full reporting service on our computer data wipe, including standard of wipe, serial numbers and asset numbers of the computers wiped. We offer this at three standards: A basic 3-pass erase with random data costs £5 to report and a 7-pass erase costs £10. In both cases, there is a 10% discount for reporting 10 PCs or more, or a 20% discount for reporting 20 PCs or more.
