A technician has upgraded four computers and would like to securely repurpose the hard drives for later use.
Which of the following should the technician do to the drives to prepare them for later use?
A.
chkdsk
B.
Degauss
C.
Quick format
D.
Drive wipe
Wipe, in a computing context, means to render all data on a hard drive unreadable. The term is often used in reference to making data stored on a computer, smartphone or tablet inaccessible before disposing of the device.
Although “erase” is often used as a synonym for “wipe,” that term is a little misleading — it isn’t possible to actually erase hard drive data. Deleting a file only removes the file listing, which serves as a shortcut. The data is still on the computer and easily accessible to anyone with the right program and/or know-how. The same is true if you reformat a drive.