Question Removing everything on storage

[Gaogier]

Gello

Sorry, for the vague title. I didn’t want to overly complicate it.

Full question:
How can you remove all data from a hard disk drive, ssd… flash memory (if that isn’t an ssd)?

So, I am not sure how true anything below is true, just knowledge from college, previous schooling, and personal interests in webhosting, web development and design. I have a lot more knowledge in MacOS, poorer knowledge in windows OS. If only I could run MacOS via a custom gaming pc, and what I have seen via “hackers”, “computer techs” from watching TV shows and films.

So, I think, the saying goes if it’s on the internet it’s out there for ever, well if the hard drives to the server with data I have put out gets destroyed, I would lose that data forever, assuming backups are also destroyed. Is this correct? If I upload a photo online, nobody saw the picture and the hard drives were destroyed that image is gone forever?

Next thing, how destroyed is destroyed, let’s say I have a picture on my hard drive, that is not connected to any computer, it’s left in my home, and I use magnetic fields to wipe the drive, would people like the FBI for example be able to recover any data from the hard drive? Would just smashing an iPad if that had the same image, that is on the device and nowhere else, destroy the data, would using magnets destroy it? Would a fire destroy it? Same thing with all other types of storage devices from floppy disks, to ssd.

If the following does not delete/destroy the data to be unable to to recover any part, 100% fully deleted 100% unrecoverable, are there any logical way to destroy the data fully?

I just watched a tv show (I think) I got a glimpse of what was on tv, a man was smashing some laptop so he can get away with some crime (I assume)…

 

[rgd1101]

I read that they can now get an image just from you thinking about it. so you need to destroy that too.

 

[USAFRet]

A Full format in Windows File Explorer is enough to defeat any user level recovery.

If you are the target of a state level actor (FBI/CIA/GCHQ/KGB) actual physical destruction, and scattering the pieces far and wide.
They make shredders for exactly this.

 

[USAFRet]

well if the hard drives to the server with data I have put out gets destroyed, I would lose that data forever, assuming backups are also destroyed. Is this correct?

It may also live in the server backups.
And any server that it happened to go through between you and the main server.

If the following does not delete/destroy the data to be unable to to recover any part, 100% fully deleted 100% unrecoverable, are there any logical way to destroy the data fully?

Anything not in your physical control is...out of your control.

 

[Gaogier]

So I also watch man + river, and they find things like phones that have been missing for months, the boards are mostly corroded, but the person who needs a picture off the phone, they can send it in to others who can retrieve the data and if that is partially damaged they seem to get the data… most shows say or show that they are able to recover data that I would say would be completely destroyed.

I saw a show the other day, a bomb went off and the techs were able to find what the item was from just the number on a chip, even though the chip is most likely used in thousands of products. They then seem to download a picture, blow up the picture and get some sort of reflective item that then they are able to find the subject clear as day.

I know that you can’t blow up an image like that to find a reflection in most photos, not alone something that was blown up.

I think it was a film called the core… the guy that they needed to sensor and restrict information about a top secret mission to the core of earth… yeah very far fetched, but they go to this guys home and he uses something to destroy all the hard disks so the data is destroyed.

@USAFRet yeah, I kinda knew this, but I was in hospital waiting for an operation, I was sat in this room waiting to have surgery on my ankle, they had some superhero film (no sound) and they had to find the item, they narrowed it down to a server room somewhere and then they found the actual server then the hard drive. This is the last thing that I can remember, no idea if I dreamt it, but this has been somewhere in the back of my head and things pop up in life that makes me obsess over.

In my head, the item you upload to the internet, it goes via your computer, the router (unknown if they record what was uploaded) via the ISP, then a distribution centre, then to where ever that ends up maybe overseas like the ocean, back to a distribution facility to the ISP, back to the server.

 

[USAFRet]

What happens in the movies has no connection with reality.