Dc3dd is truly an impressive tool, not only can it be used to image a drive but also to wipe it. Previously, I made extensive use of DBAN for erasing data from drives until I came across a problem where DBAN could not see them. Now I use dc3dd, below are the three available options that that users can choose for how the drive will be overwritten.
Overwrite using zeroes, this is the basic and simplest form you can use for wiping a drive:
dc3dd wipe=/dev/sde
Overwrite using HEX pattern:
dc3dd wipe=/dev/sdb pat=009900
Overwrite using Text pattern:
dc3dd wipe=/dev/sdb tpat=ireallylikecake
Which ever option you choose the output will look like the following.
root@ubuntu:~# dc3dd wipe=/dev/sde log=dc3dd-wipe.txt
dc3dd 7.1.614 started at 2012-06-06 23:05:41 -0700
compiled options:
command line: dc3dd wipe=/dev/sde log=dc3dd-wipe.txt
device size: 1007616 sectors (probed)
sector size: 512 bytes (probed)
515899392 bytes (492 M) copied (100%), 125.02 s, 3.9 M/s
input results for pattern `00’:
1007616 sectors in
output results for device `/dev/sde’:
1007616 sectors out
dc3dd completed at 2012-06-06 23:07:46 -0700
If you like you can start multiple instances of dc3dd and wipe more than one drive. Take caution, you don’t want to wipe a working drive by accident. Feel free to comment, I will answer in a timely manner. dc3dd @ SourceForce
dc3dd, linux, secu — Jun 9, 2012