Secure Erase?

[gordonfink]

What's the best way to securely wipe data?

I am assuming factory reset, then cop 32gb worth of meaningless stuff, then factory reset again?

Is there a way to encrypt files prior to reset, or an app to overwrite all 0's after reset, or do you have to do it the old fashioned way above?

Also - will the overwrite method securely overwrite all areas, like where contacts and such are stored?

Thanks much.

 

[dKp1977]

A single factory reset will do fine. There's no need for anything beyond that. WP has yet to be jailbroken, which would be mandatory in order to gain full access. Without that there's no way of accessing files or any other information that has ever found its way on your device.

 

[xandros9]

I would not worry about that fancy stuff unless you have government agents or people with exceedingly deep pockets after you.

but then again you'd have bigger problems.

us normal people don't have direct access to the storage, so we don't have the tools or expertise to undelete things. A professional data recovery company might do the trick by tearing down the phone and touching the actual memory chips, but as I said above.

 

[hprvez]

There's no need for "jailbreak" to access, read and write any single information. It has already been done via jtag, not something cheap anyway

 

[dKp1977]

There's no need for "jailbreak" to access, read and write any single information. It has already been done via jtag, not something cheap anyway

I remember that from Windows Phone 7. Is that still possible? Anyways, that's nothing to worry about I'd say.

 

[RumoredNow]

If you really want to, you could try the "Shrink Storage" App linked in this wiki: How to free storage memory on Windows Phone - Wiki

It will fill your internal storage to the brim and trigger the automatic storage cleanup.

 

[dKp1977]

If you really want to, you could try the "Shrink Storage" App linked in this wiki: How to free storage memory on Windows Phone - Wiki

It will fill your internal storage to the brim and trigger the automatic storage cleanup.

This will only delete cached and temporary files though.

 

[Pete]

As there's no method of inspecting the phone's storage on a binary level, there's no need of a data wipe. As dKp said above, you just need to perform a hard reset and allow the next owner of your phone to set it up with their Microsoft Account, your data and content will not be visible to them.

 

[EndOfRope]

Hello,
it would be also important to delete all data in the cloud. That might be difficult because you don?t always know what data is stored there for your account. For exampe, your installed apps, contacts etc.
To delete data from your phone, you can only be shure with a big hammer :grin:
There are a lot of forensic tools on the maket even for consumers (like elcomsoft) and i don?t know what all this tools can do. Well, maybe i?m paranoid.

 

[dKp1977]

Hello,
it would be also important to delete all data in the cloud. That might be difficult because you don?t always know what data is stored there for your account. For exampe, your installed apps, contacts etc.
To delete data from your phone, you can only be shure with a big hammer :grin:
There are a lot of forensic tools on the maket even for consumers (like elcomsoft) and i don?t know what all this tools can do. Well, maybe i?m paranoid.

Deleting data in the cloud would only be necessary/recommended, if he's planning to give his account away too. If he's just going to sell his phone and the new owner will create his own account, there's no access to the prior account and its respective data anyways. There's not even the slightest trace of any former account left on the phone. At least none that could easily be accessed by any regular user out there.

 

[RumoredNow]

This will only delete cached and temporary files though.

Combined with a Factory reset it does what the OP wants. It rewrites all the storage space and erases it again making it more difficult for the NSA to recover the data he had on the phone on a previous write layer when they crack the case and run forensics on his chips.

 

[dKp1977]

Combined with a Factory reset it does what the OP wants. It rewrites all the storage space and erases it again making it more difficult for the NSA to recover the data he had on the phone on a previous write layer when they crack the case and run forensics on his chips.

Ok. I didn't think as far as NSA or any other intelligence agency, lol.

 

[RumoredNow]

That is an extreme example. He simply wants to feel secure that his data has been erased, overwritten, erased again and thus difficult for anyone to uncover.

The best way is rubbing the device all over with a strong magnet > but highly inadvisable as it permanently disables the device as well. :devil:

 

[mjperry51]

That is an extreme example. He simply wants to feel secure that his data has been erased, overwritten, erased again and thus difficult for anyone to uncover.

The best way is rubbing the device all over with a strong magnet > but highly inadvisable as it permanently disables the device as well. :devil:

A hammer also works well. . .

Just sayin'

 

[RumoredNow]

A hammer also works well. . .

Just sayin'

It's very time consuming to bang on each and every component individually...

Maybe a nice fire with gasoline accelerant?

 

[gordonfink]

Thanks much for the info.

I know Apple encrypts file keys, so files are inaccessible. Android doesn't do anything unless you go to some trouble to do it. I just wasn't sure what WP did.

I may try the magnet, though. Sounds like an interesting option......

As far as I know, the NSA isn't after me. So you guys know something I don't?

Uh oh, time to leave the grid.....

Thanks again.

 

[xandros9]

I doubt a magnet will do the trick.

a few bullet or drill holes ought to work, but you may want to toss it into the depths of Mt. Doom to be sure.

 

[rhapdog]

You may be able to get SpaceX to build you a rocket, and you can launch the phone into space on a trajectory directly toward the Sun. It should burn up and erase all data quite nicely. Might be a bit difficult to resell the phone after that, though, but hey no more NSA worries with that phone, right?

 

[Pete]

A magnet won't erase solid stagte storage as used in phones. 30 years back, I used to wipe the contents of floppy disks using a honking big electro-magnet.

All joking aside, a factory reset will wipe the phone and the contents will not be available for the next user. Data forensics can't be done that easily by home users (you'd need expensive specialist equipment and a lot of know-how), and it's an expensive task for law enforcement agencies.

If there's no cause to suspect you of anything pretty darned serious, there's no point in going through the effort of getting data off your phone.

 

[RumoredNow]

But it's more fun imagining the OP running the phone over multiple times with a monster truck in an effort to secure the phone book contents.