DBAN

DBAN, also known as Darik's Boot and Nuke, is a free, standalone bootable data destruction program. Its primary purpose is to securely erase all data from a hard disk drive, making it unrecoverable. DBAN operates by overwriting the data on the disk with a series of patterns. It can be run from a bootable CD, DVD, or USB drive, meaning it can operate independently of any installed operating system. This allows it to wipe drives that may have operating systems or other data that would otherwise prevent direct access.

The program offers several wiping methods, including DoD 5220.22-M, which is a standard used by the United States Department of Defense, and Gutmann, a more thorough method that performs 35 passes. Users can select the specific drive(s) they wish to wipe and choose the preferred erasure method. DBAN is particularly useful for individuals or organizations who need to dispose of old computer hardware securely, ensuring sensitive information does not fall into the wrong hands. It is important to note that DBAN is designed for magnetic storage media like traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) and may not be effective on Solid State Drives (SSDs) due to their different data storage mechanisms.