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Thread ID: 89179 2008-04-23 05:35:00 Destroying data on CDs jwil1 (65) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
661592 2008-04-23 10:33:00 OK... soooo, whats wrong with snapping it in half or quarters? if they tape it together then put it in drive it will break anyway..... sorry to be a kill joy if we are looking for the most exciting way =) password (5384)
661593 2008-04-23 10:34:00 You have to cover it with petrol and burn it. On somebodies car. Then put it on you tube. Like somebody did with a steam roller. Who did that???:confused: That was cool! rob_on_guitar (4196)
661594 2008-04-23 11:21:00 I am very boring as I just use scissors :horrified

Obviously from the other comments I could be adding more excitement to my life ;)
Misty
Misty (368)
661595 2008-04-23 11:32:00 I just want to say that I once accidentally snapped a CD (by dropping a brick on it, believe it or not, and completely unintentionally!), and successfully taped it together and read the data off it using a regular CD drive.

If someone is determined to get your precious data don't just snap it. The data's still there then.
george12 (7)
661596 2008-04-23 11:35:00 ... and successfully taped it together and read the data off it using a regular CD drive.:horrified Wouldn't have thought you could do that. Must have been a clean break.

You can still snap them into pieces; just put half out in the rubbish one week and the rest the following week. :D
Jen (38)
661597 2008-04-23 12:17:00 You don't need the full CD to read right? I mean if you talk about forensics can't you take a small piece of the CD and extract data of that piece :confused: Nomad (952)
661598 2008-04-23 12:28:00 Acid is also very effective. rob_on_guitar (4196)
661599 2008-04-23 12:41:00 yeah, data is written more closer together on cd's than on hdd's so in theory some forensic guys could recover your stuff with small pieces. I guess you could pour some nasty acids over it and melt it back to liquid form. Then you freeze it into little ice cubes along with some kerosene blocks. Then you can make a big fire in your back yard and throw the blocks into it.

If you wanted a serious response, do what your common sense feels, I know for me that would be to (only if it were very important stuff that no one else shall ever see!) grab some abrasive stuff and scratch over the full surface of the CD, making sure to leave deep scratches everywhere on the surface, then the rest, do as Jen suggested.
Deathwish (143)
661600 2008-04-23 12:48:00 yeah, data is written more closer together on cd's than on hdd's so in theory some forensic guys could recover your stuff with small pieces.

Oh w0w! Now thats Crazy!!!


CDs (and DVDs) are very effective targets for recovery, because they
have massive error correction and the data is self-identifying because
of the embedded sector IDs. It's quite possible to recover a CD that has
been shredded, not just broken.


The moral of the story is that physical destruction is hard. Grinding to
powder and heating past the Curie point are pretty reliable, but short
of that, it's tough.

If your interested have a lil look Here (www.mail-archive.com)

Password
password (5384)
661601 2008-04-23 12:55:00 The easiest way by far would be to burn it. You might have strong views on the environmental impact of deliberately burning plastic though... In which case, grind the data off it. The data is stored under the label so if you scrape the whole label off, it's gone. george12 (7)
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