<p>Only if that "mp3" is a FIFO that is being fed the same actual mp3 over and over again...</p>
<p>That could be interesting, actually, using a FIFO to wipe a drive by placing random ASCII books onto it, one could use project gutenberg as such a source. Could be amusing to whoever attempts to read the drive...</p>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Aug 26, 2011 4:28 PM, "Jim Kinney" <<a href="mailto:jim.kinney@gmail.com">jim.kinney@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br type="attribution">> Dd if=/randomladygaga.mp3 of=/dev/sda<br>> On Aug 26, 2011 3:15 PM, "Lightner, Jeff" <<a href="mailto:JLightner@water.com">JLightner@water.com</a>> wrote:<br>
>> Yep - I started using /dev/urandom instead of /dev/zero when I read<br>> something that said if the overwrite data is predictable (e.g. all zeros) it<br>> might be easier to decide what real data it was trying to mask.<br>
>><br>>><br>>><br>>><br>>><br>>> -----Original Message-----<br>>> From: <a href="mailto:ale-bounces@ale.org">ale-bounces@ale.org</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:ale-bounces@ale.org">ale-bounces@ale.org</a>] On Behalf Of David<br>
> Tomaschik<br>>> Sent: Friday, August 26, 2011 2:52 PM<br>>> To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts<br>>> Subject: Re: [ale] erasing a hard drive<br>>><br>>> On Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 1:37 PM, Lightner, Jeff <<a href="mailto:JLightner@water.com">JLightner@water.com</a>><br>
> wrote:<br>>>> Of course you don't need a software at all.<br>>>><br>>>> Erasing the data in a filesystem then unmounting the filesystem and<br>> running:<br>>>> dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/sda1/scramble bs=1M<br>
>>><br>>>> - will write random data on the partition (sda1 in the above - you can<br>> substitute other partitions/drive letters as necessary)<br>>>><br>>>> However, any time I've seen this question come up someone invariably<br>
> posts that it really isn't necessary for "modern drives". They never quite<br>> say what their definition of "modern" is.<br>>>><br>>>> In the past it was required to do something like the above multiple times<br>
> but it really isn't necessary unless you're doing DOD or CIA work.<br>>><br>>> It is necessary to do at least one overwrite pass. Recovering data<br>>> from a drive that has not been overwritten at all (e.g., mkfs or rm<br>
>> only) is trivial.<br>>><br>>> The theory behind multiple overwrites has to do with the fact that<br>>> data isn't really stored in discrete chunks on the drive, and there<br>>> are algorithms that can theoretically recover/rebuild data from the<br>
>> "edges" of the tracks. However, this is substantially less of an<br>>> issue these days. For one, those techniques were developed against<br>>> MFM and RLL encoded drives. Drives using PRML and EPRML and<br>
>> perpendicular recording are believed to be far more resistant to this<br>>> (as they have less area in which other traces are left.)<br>>><br>>> For a better explanation than I could write, see<br>
>> <a href="http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html">http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html</a> (especially<br>>> the epilogue).<br>>><br>>><br>>> --<br>
>> David Tomaschik, RHCE, LPIC-1<br>>> System Administrator/Open Source Advocate<br>>> OpenPGP: 0x5DEA789B<br>>> <a href="http://systemoverlord.com">http://systemoverlord.com</a><br>>> <a href="mailto:david@systemoverlord.com">david@systemoverlord.com</a><br>
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