Tag Archives: security

Windows 7 Network Share Trust

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Windows 7 improved various aspects of security over previous version of the Microsoft operating system, while improvements are usually well received some of the new security aspects resulted in Windows no longer trusting my network share despite being in my LAN which is already trusted and not in the Internet where I have no control.

While is not the end of the world, the changes do make it annoying if you have to download multiple files from a network share. This is what I have to put up with every time I have to download a file:

The Solution

Fortunately, the fix is an easy one, and it only requires adding the IP address of the network share as a trusted one.

Start by going to the Control Panel.

And click on Internet Options.

In the Internet Properties window select Local intranet.

Click on Sites.

And in the Advanced button.

Enter the IP address of your NAS or network server and click on Add.

Click on OK.

One last time click on OK.

From now on the network share will not be treated as an untrusted source and you will not be presented with the warning any more. However, if you add another network share with a different IP address you will need to follow the same steps all over again.

Links:

Securely Erase A Drive With CCleaner

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By know you probably already know of CCleaner and how its commonly used to remove unwanted files from a system make registry changes and other system related tasks. Another great feature is the included ability to securely wipe drives called Drive Wiper.

Drive Wiper supports both hard drives and USB drives and can be instructed to either erase Free Space only or erase the Entire Drive (all data will be erased).

Compared with other applications you can have CCleaner wiping a drive in a matter of minutes. You can choose from four sanitation methods: Simple Overwrite (1 pass), DOD 552.22-M (3 passes), NSA (7 passes), Gutmann (35 passes).

For demonstration purposes I will be using a 512MB Flash Drive as the target drive, always make sure you are wiping the intended drive.

Let’s Start

Start CCleaner and on the sidebar located on the left and click on Tools

Click on the Drive Wiper button.

Here you can select what what parts of the drive will be erased, your options are Free Space only and Entire Drive (all data will be erased). I want all the data in the drive gone, therefore I am going with Entire drive option.

You also have to choose the sanitation method, or how the data will be erased. You can choose between Simple Overwrite (1 pass), DOD 552.22-M (3 passes), NSA (7 passes), Gutmann (35 passes), the more passes the longer it will take but also the more secure it is(depends on who you ask). For my purpose Overwrite (1 pass) will be enough for my Flash Drive.

And click on Wipe, we are almost there.

Because humans can’t be trusted you will be asked to type the following text exactly as it is and then click on OK.

My 512MB Flash Drive took a total time of three minutes and twenty seconds to complete, the larger the drive the longer it will take to erase the contents.

After the process is done you will be taken back to Drive Wiper Menu.

With CCleaner and Drive Wiper securely erasing the contents of a drive could not be easier. Users will appreciate the clean interface that removes unnecessary options that only serve to take space and confuse the user. It doesn’t get any better for a tool that is freely available.

If you have any questions leave a comment below and I will try to respond as soon as possible.

Links:

CCleaner Home Page

Acronis Drive Cleanser – Securely Erase Hard Drives

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There are certain tools that every IT Pro should have in its arsenal and surprisingly sometimes insted of recovering data we may be required to destroy data. The reason is that you wouldn’t want some unintended party to get hold of a drive with your data on it. If you need to completely destroy all data from a drive then you need to know about Acronis Drive Cleanser. With Acronis Drive Cleanser a Windows application you can choose between a wide selection of supported National Data Destruction Standards depending on how thorough of a job you want done.

When you format a drive all the previously held data in the drive can still be recovered with standard data recovery tools.

The Interface

The user interface will not bother with unnecessary options that only serve the purpose of taking space rather than providing functionality. The whole operation can be described as pick a drive you want to erase, select method, and proceed.

Data destruction standards and Algorithms

Among the supported National data destruction standards:

  • American: DoD 5220.22-M;
  • American: NAVSO P-5239-26 (RLL);
  • American: NAVSO P-5239-26 (MFM);
  • German: VSITR;
  • Russian: Russian Standard, GOST P50739-95.

Supported predefined algorithms many of which you are probably already familiar with:

  • Peter Gutmann’s algorithm — data is destroyed with 35 passes
  • Bruce Schneier’s algorithm — data is destroyed with 7 passes

Acronis Media Builder

Acronis Media Builder is a feature that creates a bootable version of Acronis Drive Cleanser that is OS independent for erasing drives that are in other systems. You can save the bootable version of Drive Cleanser either to an ISO or Flash Drive (23MB in total).

Conclusion

At $61 USD per license I consider Acronis Drive Cleanser 6.0 to be a good option for when you need to erase all data from a drive. Easy to use, and with the right options makes for a winning option for when you need to securely erase hard drives before repurposing it, selling it or handing it over to an un-trusted party.

Links

Acronis Drive Cleanser

Eraser – Secure data removal tool for Windows

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Whether we like it or not hard drives and USB flash drives contain more personal information than we would like. Thats why its essential to properly erase any information they contain before disposing of them. We already know that formatting is not the way to, the only way of ensuring the permanent removal of data is by overwriting it.

Meet Eraser a security tool available for the Windows platform that can securely and permanently erase sensitive data from a drive by overwriting it with one of the many available patterns. Eraser integrates seamlessly with Windows Explorer and includes a scheduler called Erase Schedule where the user can schedule tasks to erase certain files, unused disk space or the Recycle Bin.

Eraser is licensed under a GNU General Public License.

Windows Explorer Integration

After Eraser is installed it will automatically integrate with Windows Explorer if the user needs erase a drive all it has to is Right click on the drive, select Erase, and decided whether to Erase now or on Erase on Restart. It cant get any easier than this.

Erase Schedule

You can even automate Eraser to erase certain files, unused disk space, a specified disk, or the Recycle Bin.

Erasure methods supported by Eraser

You can even choose the levels of paranoia.

  1. Gutmann (35 passes)
  2. Gutmann (Lite10 passes)
  3. US DoD 5220.22-M (8-306./E, C & E) (7 passes)
  4. RCMP TSSIT OPS-II (7 passes)
  5. Schneier 7 pass (7 passes)
  6. German VSITR (7 passes)
  7. US DoD 5220.00-M (8-306./E) (3 passes)
  8. British HMGIS5 (Enhanced) (3 passes)
  9. US Air Force 5020 (3 passes)
  10. US Army AR380-19 (3 passes)
  11. Russian GOST P50739-95 (2 passes)
  12. British HMG IS5 (Baseline) (1 pass)
  13. Pseudorandom Data (1 pass)
  14. First/last 16KB Erasure

Why run the risk of having your erased data recovered by a stranger when the tool need to erase the data permanently is accessible.

Links

Eraser Home Page