Wipe a CDRW content, is it possible?

[choco140]

Interesting question, does anybody know a software which would be able to wipe out a CD-RW content.

Like DataGone, Disksanitizer for Hard Drive, are there some soft capable of writing zeros or random characters all the disk through in order to be sure that your data have been completely wipe out (privacy concern )?

Any idea?

[cfitz]

As far as I know doing in a full erase in any burning software (e.g. Nero) will completely erase the entire disc. I won't guarantee that this will render the disc NSA-proof (e.g. the spooks can reportedly still recover the content of a hard drive that has been overwritten only one or two times by examining the residual fields), but it ought to do for any normal privacy concerns.

From the Nero help file:

There are two erase methods available: 'quick-erase' and 'full-erase'.

Quick-erase: The data is not erased fully from the disc. Only the references to the contents of the disc are deleted. The disc appears to be empty, although it is not really empty. This means that it is possible for someone else to restore the contents. Do not use this method for discs which contain confidential data. Erasing a disc using this method lasts between 1 and 2 minutes.

Full-erase: All the data is deleted from the disc and cannot be restored. The time needed to erase a disc using this method varies depending on the type of disc.

cfitz

[burninfool]

Safest way is to destroy the disk,cut the disk in half or put in an oven at 500F.http://www.roxio.com/en/support/discs/destroydiscs.html

[choco140]

Safest way is to destroy the disk,cut the disk in half or put in an oven at 500F.http://www.roxio.com/en/support/discs/destroydiscs.html

You're absolutely right

But CD-RW are generally used several times (they have been designed for this ), that's why I just want to be sure that a complete erase in Nero or Cd Creator will do the job and wipe all the data previously written on the disk, so that I won't have to worry to give or lend my disks to people I don't necessarely know well.

[choco140]

Anybody? Pleasssssssssssse UP !

[Ian]

I think cfitz gave you the best answer. Since CD-RW is a phase change media, once you set it back to its default state (erase it), the data is gone.

If you want to make sure that its gone for good (and not want to shread it), do a full erase, fill it up with crap again to overwrite everything on there, and then do another full erase.

[choco140]

I think cfitz gave you the best answer. Since CD-RW is a phase change media, once you set it back to its default state (erase it), the data is gone.

OK, thanks for your help guys