Windows Wiping. Analysis of several secure deletion software products

Transcription

1 Windows Wiping Analysis of several secure deletion software products

2 Introduction What this is: A comparison review and brief demo of several secure deletion utilities for Windows An outline of which product may best fit a certain need What this is not: A forensic evaluation of the utilities Aimed at providing a clear winner or a score A how to demo A review of every secure deletion product

3 Overview Driving Factors Desired Features Product Evaluations Recommendations Demonstrations

4 Driving Factors Demand for recommended secure deletion solutions for Windows Should be easy to use Must work as advertised Must be affordable

5 Desired Features Affordability Right click support for secure deletion of files and folders Secure deletion of unused disk space Secure deletion of temp files, cookies, saved form data, recycle bin, etc. Sane defaults

6 Product Evaluation For the purposes of this demonstration, I evaluated four different products that offer secure file and folder deletion. Eraser SDelete R-Wipe&Clean Window Washer

7 Eraser Pros Free/Open Source Right click integration with Windows Explorer for securely deleting files and/or folders Wipes unused disk space with a variety of options Can schedule cleanings If this is all you need, it is a great choice Cons No cookie-saving Wiping Recycle Bin, Temporary Internet Files, cookies, etc., is done by locating each folder and wiping it separately User and Vista-unfriendly Saves schedules in the install directory; can t t be created or modified by Restricted Users

8 SDelete Pros Free/Open Source Command line, so it is scriptable Wipes unused disk space with a variety of options Can be scheduled via Windows Task Scheduler Works for any user Cons Only Command line therefore no right-click integration, no one click ability Not user friendly

9 R-Wipe&Clean wipe.com/ Pros Cheap if purchased in large quantities Right click integration with Windows Explorer for securely deleting files and/or folders Wipes unused disk space with a variety of options Can schedule cleanings Most tasks work under Restricted User privs Cons Not Free/Open Source Defaults are overly paranoid, deleting helpful data such as firewall logs, Windows event logs, saved folder views Works only for the user account that installed it

10 Window Washer Pros Right click integration with Windows Explorer for securely deleting files and/or folders Wipes unused disk space with a variety of options Can schedule cleanings Reasonably safe defaults User friendly interface Most tasks work under Restricted User privs Cons Not Free/Open Source perhaps not affordable Cookie keeping works only with IE and Netscape!? (not Firefox) Cleans only for the user account that runs it

11 Features Summary Feature Affordable Right click secure delete Eraser YES Files & Folders SDelete YES NO R-Wipe & Clean Yes, in quantity Files & Folders Window Washer Not really Files & Folders Free space wipe Cookies, temp files, web cache Sane defaults YES Not really NO & N/A YES Not Really N/A YES YES NO YES Almost yes Mostly

12 Features Summary None of the solutions stand out head and shoulders above the rest. SDelete is the only command-line app of the group, and that s s the only reason you d d use it Eraser is a good solution, if you don t t need additional features and can handle its flaws Window Washer is the best out of the box,, but is the most costly and has poor Firefox support R-Wipe&Clean has a key flaw wiping far too much by default

13 Recommendations SDelete: Use if you want a scriptable solution. Eraser: Use if you want a free tool and know exactly what you want to wipe R-Wipe&Clean: The best overall for features, but needs some (quick) configuration tweaks Window Washer: The best option to convince Grandma to buy

14 Demonstrations

15 Surprise! We purchased a site license for R-Wipe&CleanR Wipe&Clean, covering University-owned computers We have the software and license key We are looking for help using the software, to determine what defaults should be used either in a Best Practices document, or (hopefully) within a custom installer application We may be looking for testers to verify that the custom installer works as designed

16 R-Wipe&Clean Summary Shortcomings can be mostly overcome with a little time and effort It is a privacy program the settings are very privacy-centric centric Using it as a security tool takes a little up-front configuration It is now licensed for all computers owned or leased by the University of Minnesota Still needs to be used in order to be effective

17 Reminders Secure Deletion generally means not recoverable using ordinary methods this has pros and cons These tools don t t perform a search & destroy private data you need to tell them what to destroy AND tell them to destroy it If disposing of a hard drive, full disk data destruction is needed if private data is involved

18 Conclusion After analyzing the driving factors, desired features and product evaluations, it seems that no offering is the best for every use However, R-Wipe&CleanR is probably the best value for many especially now that you don t t have to pay for it!

19 Have A Good Day!