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We are going to return a few rented CentOS dedicated servers and I was wondering about any way to remove sensitive content (a few folders) from the HDD before returning these servers?

Maybe some Linux alternative to "Eraser"? If so, what are those alternatives?

Thank you in advance

2 Answers 2

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If we are talking about specific partitions, you can run the following remotely:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hdxX (or sdx in some cases).

You can also use this command

shred -vfz -n 1 /dev/hdxX 

If you have physical access, you can run the above commands on the entire drive if desired or use this:

http://www.dban.org/

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  • Not sure if I can use any of those solutions since I do only have remote ssh access
    – Zillo
    Nov 29, 2011 at 3:06
  • I highly recommend reading cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html#Epilogue to see what 35-pass overwrite really means, and why it's unneeded.
    – Andrew
    Nov 29, 2011 at 3:11
  • you dont need a rescue disk to run those commands. You can run them from the existing install perfectly fine.
    – phemmer
    Nov 29, 2011 at 3:18
  • Point taken. Updating answer.
    – Rilindo
    Nov 29, 2011 at 3:20
  • -n 100?! That would take days. Nov 29, 2011 at 4:47
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Use shred on the sensitive files concerned.

You should also ask the hosting company what are its procedures for wiping servers and wiping backups.

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  • Once I use shred on the sensitive folders (through ssh), any tip on how to proceed next? Maybe some final command that will also cause the ssh to disconnect.
    – Zillo
    Nov 29, 2011 at 3:08
  • Looks like shred is not effective on Ext3 partitions
    – Zillo
    Nov 29, 2011 at 3:18
  • +1 Ask the Hosting Company (really should have asked before you put sensitive information on another person's hardware). You could easily be in violation of privacy laws depending on what kind of information and agreements you have in place. Regardless of what you do at this point, they might have backups, which they may be entitled to keep indefinitely; again it depends on your agreements with them.
    – Chris S
    Nov 29, 2011 at 3:19
  • Regarding shred it seems that convert to ext2 can be a solution before using shred. Chris S I am aware of that and the hosting company can do the work but I prefer to return the servers the more secured-erased as possible (just in case)
    – Zillo
    Nov 29, 2011 at 3:28
  • Do not simply use shred to remove sensitive files on a filesystem where secure deletion hasn't been used religiously in the past. Sensitive data may still lurk in areas on disk marked as "unused". Just wipe the whole partition and be done with it. Nov 29, 2011 at 3:48

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