Is this real... How To?

Im watching a TV Show. I belive its CSI Miami or something. They said during the show this>>>>>

On a computer harddrive, even though you press delete and empty your recycle bin, its never deleted and its still there for a while. They said they used "Graverobber" software which got those files back that were deleted days/weeks ago.

Now, is this real? Ive heard of a folder C:\$Recycle.BIN\ but i went there and found nothing after i emtied recycle bin. But this was deleted and emptied fp a while, and they recovered it. They said the software takes scrambled pieces of deleted files and combines to give u the whole file.

So is it real? I deleted something important a little under a week ago and i would love to be able to get it back... Thank you in advance.

 

yep right on, it just delte the index not the actual data.
so you need just to recreate the index if the data wasn't written over.

many programs allow you to rewrite when the data so its become unrecoverable.
shredders etc..

 

What actual programs could recover the files? How would i "recreate the index"

 

Yes, I thought everyone knew this. With special computer forensics software it is more than possible to recover deleted data...that's like a trend these days in computer data recovery.

And CSI Miami is the shiznit! +1 for that show.

 

there are many undelete programs around...
there is one built in the tune up utilities which i have installed on my rig for example.

look at picture when i right click my recycle bin

 

Windows System Restore is capable of restoring data you've deleted in days, weeks, and maybe even months...once the data you've deleted have not been over-written by your daily computer usage. (downloading, saving, moving files etc.) then it can/will be recovered/restored.

Edit: Third party software from Norton does this as well.

 

LoL.. +1

 

There are multiple programs to "recover lost files"

One, which is free is called Recuva made by Piriform (google it, i can't post a link yet..)

Another, which we use in our shop is called "OnTrack"

Both work very well.

 

of course security forces have much stronger tools that allow recover data even if it was partially over written, but its start like this...

 

I use GetDataBack NTFS. Great success.

 

Actually even those programs aren't able to delete everything. All OSes that sell in the US have it set so that the government has special rights of recovering data (with proper permits of course)...
So if you think you have stuff you can delete from all eyes just beware that you can't delete them from your older brother! haha

 

well i assure you one can remove data to the point it is unrecoverable by shredding it several times by a good program like pgp and then running defrag with an option to consolidate space or just move files around. or go further and shrink or extend your partition. but if you want to believe the big brother is almighty, knock yourself out...

 

Note that it only happens in Windows.
if you delete it and clear the trash in OS X/Unix/Linux then its gone. For good.

 

If you want to recover a deleted file off a harddrive stop using that hardrive immediately so the data doesn't get overwritten.

You may be able to recover you file using software and putting the harddrive in an external enclosure and using another computer to run the software.

Or you could send it to a data recovery company.

If your interested in data recovery in general you may want to check out some of these videos (link below). It is amazing what can be recovered. I recommend watching the Toorcon videos, the speaker is a data recovery specialist.

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=SuperFlyFlippingA&p=r

 

This isn't new to me, i've known about file recovery etc for a while, but i do have one question. Say I format a disk with killdisk and set the format option to DoD (3 passes), will this get rid of the data to an unrecoverable point, or would i need to use a more secure option, say gutmann (35 passes) or one of the in between options, or would these more secure options still be recoverable.

 

Ok if you guys don't want to believe someone like me with insider info go right ahead...

 

woah I was under the impression that this was true until a computer major friend of mine said it was not really true, that programs are marked for to be written over and are gone in a few days or a week.

If in fact this is true that data can be recovered from my drives how can I remove data completely from my drive? I mean I delete these things because I dont want them taking up space on my comp anymore. So what do I have to do to really get rid of them completely?

 

they dont take up space, they just dont get deleted until that space is needed

 

There are even solutions that are compliant with the U.S. Department of Defense's disk sanitizing standards, one of the most rigorous data deletion standards. One such user-friendly solution approved by the U.S. Department of Defense is WipeDrive."
- Law Enforcement Technology

 

You need to rewrite the data with random bits to remove the traces of it. You can use DBAN which can run a few passes over your entire hard drive with random bits so it is gone.

 

haha... if it was "approved by the U.S. Department of Defense" publicly, then they really have something better for their private use don't they?

Because if WipeDrive really was used by the govt. that would be like the govt. giving out its security software publicly for others to use! >.<

 

when a controller on my old HDD died, i managed to restore 95% of the data off a half-formatted non-partitioned drive, using EasyRecoveryPro software.

 

I believe that something better includes actually destroying the hard drive from which they don't want any data recovered. You can get creative here, such as using thermite or chucking it into a wood chipper.

 

^-^;; I think that might do the trick. hahaha

 

I have used a hammer once with pleasing results

 

Can't they still restore stuffs off the broken shard?

 

Yea I know, I'm using the other top secret software the Department of Defence use as well. you may of heard of it, Windows?

 

100% true.

There's no reason for the computer to spend extra resources "scrambling" data when all it needs to do is cut the index and eventually wait for those data cells to be overwritten.

Create a program that re-introduces those indexes quickly, and voila, you've resurrected the dead

 

So, theres no program that cleans up and completely removes deleted files? And just how long do deleted files stay hidden for again?

 

It depends on who you are hiding them from. For most, a simple delete and wait for the bits to be overwritten is fine. The next step would be rewrite the data a few times so that software can't track down and recover the old files. If you data is really that important that someone would sit down and examine the disk itself bit by bit then lots of rewrites or just physically destroying the drive is needed.

 

people tend to think that by recycling the get rid of data and then they go sell their hardware on ebay, read here

 

I don't know if someone mentioned this, but retrieving files:

The same group that offers ccleaner offers "recuva" as a file retrieval tool...
http://www.recuva.com/

This works for files not yet overwritten.

 

I enjoy CSI: Miami a lot.

Too bad Horatio had to die.

 

DBAN is a great free utility to wipe/shred data.

Yes, forensic data recovery specialists can do that.

Shattering your HDD physically isn't the smartest way to get rid the evidence.

 

Unless you can no longer piece it together....

 

They don't necessarily need all the pieces back together, they can still recover some data from whatever piece(s) they've found.

 

What are HDDs made of?
Jet flame lighter or a small blowtorch then?? (DIY store the latter one)

 

Yeah, I think burn it to ashes or melt it down is the best method.

A very powerful magnet can do the job as well, but I believe fire is easier to access than a very powerful magnet for most people.

For CD/DVD, microwave is the best method, takes only 5 sec., that's all.

 

That bit about recovering (normally) deleted files is true, but don’t believe everything you see on CSI. More than half the time, computer gimmicks you see on CSI are made-up. Generally I like the show, but sometimes it can be really annoying when they show totally unrealistic stuff..., One time I saw them reconstructing a license plate number from a reflection caught on some guys sunglasses that was intern captured by a traffic camera or a camera phone or something like that.. I mean c’mon.. there is a limit to how much you can enhance an image.. you cant just fabricate detail that is simply not there ! No matter how sophisticated your computer program is ! wonder if the writers of CSI ever consult any real technical ppl..

Anyways, here is something else you might find surprising: stealing encrypted data by freezing RAM chips.

 

+1.
Active@KillDisk will also do the job perfectly.

 

a minimum of 7 passes is needed.

 

i once recovered 5 formatted partitions no problems

 

The only way to genuinely securely destory a hard disk is to physically destroy it, I believe. Reduce it to sand!

 

Or use a powerful magnet to wipe the dang thing

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17007&ch=infotech

 

I'm guessing rattlesnake magnets / neodymium's won't be good enough?

 

Did anyone ever see the machine they use for destroying hard drives? Its like a pit of giant rollers with massive teeth on it that just turns the drives to dust.

 

Not seen that, sounds like fun though. Dip it in liquid nitrogen and smack it real hard ought to do it!

 

(Video) Hard Drive crusher: Just don't get your tie caught! I love how casually he tosses them in.

Then watch your couch come back from the dead

 

Oh my god I wana throw a baby in there XD!

 

Yea, those teeth are real serious.

In case you guys haven't seen it already:

Will it Blend? New Apple 3G Phone

I'm waiting for him to shove a laptop in there and blend the crap out of it