I am looking for a good, free hard drive free space eraser.

[rhett o rick]

I have used Zilla but not sure where to get it. I don't trust just anyone offering free downloads. I think CNET includes malware with their downloads. I suspect others do also. Any recommendations for free down load sites? And good data eraser program.

[Warren Stupidity]

1. encrypt your disks and stop worrying about it.

Disk encryption is available for all standard os's, is free, is reliable, and basically blocks anyone other than the NSA level thiefs from accessing your data directly from the disk itself. You are still vulnerable to malware running within the os while the disk is attached and the platform up and running, but the detached/powered off/stolen disk case is taken care of.

[rhett o rick]

2. Sounds more like what I want. My specific problem is that I bought a new laptop one

month ago and it's giving me a blue screen about every few days. I plan on calling but want to protect my data in case the whole thing freezes up. If I return it, I doubt they would appreciate a smashed hard drive.

Where is the best place to find the encryption you are discussing?

Do you have a favorite download sight that you trust?

Thanks for the help.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. Windows 7 and 8+: "pro" or "enterprise" versions only.

gack. I really hate how MSFT defeatures their products. They nickle and dime their customer base to death and drive them away. You likely don't have the right version of windows installed. Sorry for the misinformation.

If you do happen to have the right version just google "bitlocker".

[hobbit709]

4. guess what happens if you ever forget the key.

[Warren Stupidity]

5. yes sure, if you encrypt your disks don't forget the key.

There are always trade offs. You cannot keep your data safe at zero cost.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

6. cipher.exe located @ C:\Windows\System32

How to Overwrite Deleted Data using the "Cipher" Command in Windows
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/276046-cipher-command-overwrite-deleted-data-windows.html

The Windows cipher command line tool is predominantly used to manage the encryption status of NTFS volumes. A lesser known function of this command is the ability to securely overwrite free disk space.

Files deleted on a volume are only marked for deletion and can still be recovered. By using the cipher command, the free space occupied by the deleted files are securely overwritten resulting in a more secure system in which the previously deleted files cannot be recovered.

The advantage of using the cipher command is that it ONLY overwrites free disk space - the remainder of the volume is untouched. The cipher command can be run from a booted system without the need to dismount volumes/partitions/disks, or to resort to more complex tools.

This tutorial will show you how to securely wipe or overwrite free disk space on any partition or disk using the inbuilt cipher command in Windows.

I have no experience running cipher.exe (never had the need to actually)... I may test it in a VM if I find the time...

SDelete by Sysinternals' Mark Russinovich:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.08.utilityspotlight.aspx

All good IT pros know that when you delete a file in Windows, even bypassing the Recycle Bin, the data isn't removed from disk.

Instead, the file's entry in the Master File Table is marked as deleted and its clusters are freed up to store new data. That process is efficient from a disk-management point of view. But it can leave deleted files vulnerable: Unless new data wipes out all of a deleted file's clusters, that file can still be recovered. The only way to ensure that a file can't be revived is to securely overwrite all its data. One way to achieve that is by using Microsoft's free utility SDelete.

Another great tool by Mark Russinovich, a technical fellow in Microsoft's Platform and Services Division, SDelete can permanently wipe single files or directories or multiple objects by using wild cards. In addition to securely removing existing files, SDelete will purge data in unallocated clusters of a disk—that is, files that have already been deleted.

HTH

[MannyGoldstein]

7. truecrypt

Free, open source, and iirc specifically mentioned by Ed Snowden as something even the NSA has trouble decrypting. I use it for all sensitive data, very easy to use.

If you're throwing out a drive, best to physically destroy it. Drilling a hole through the platters is a good start!

[MannyGoldstein]

8. Looks like Truecrypt got shut down by the NSA (really!)

Perhaps veracrypt is the successor.

[rhett o rick]

9. First, how did you get so many hearts? Good grief, I hope you don't think that means anything

other than someone had a lot of extra damn hearts and didn't know what to do with them.

I just bought a new laptop one month ago today. I am getting blue screens of death more and more frequently. I plan on contacting the techs but in the mean time I want to remove all my files and use them off of an external hard drive. I don't want the damn thing to freeze on me with my files still on. I doubt that they would appreciate me turning in a laptop with a hole drilled into the hard drive. I am planning on moving my files to an external hard drive and then cleaning the empty space.

[MannyGoldstein]

10. Good strategy

You could also save the files off to dropbox or spider oak (?) which is the online backup recommended by Snowden I've been playing with it, seems pretty good.

The hearts? Most of them I purchased for myself, a few came from people with severe cognitive issues and fellow paid disruptors.

[rhett o rick]

11. I will look into "dropbox" and "spider oak" but am leery of cloudy programs. They seem to be too

tempting to hackers.

I must confess about the hearts. I asked my posse to give stars to you because you have such an inferiority complex that I thought extra hearts might help.