[Leaplist] The DD drive challenge

[patrick]

Steve Litt wrote:
> On Monday 07 April 2008 09:34, patrick wrote:
>> Here is a challenge, where a Western Digital 80 GB drive with a folder
>> and two files on it is hit with the DD command, and you win if you can
>> recover the name of one of the files or the folder.
>>
>> Purpose is to dispel rumors that a drive need be multiply written with
>> zeros to erase all data.  Government agencies and professional drive
>> recovery specialists refuse to take this challenge.
>>
>> Representatives of some who were contacted quoted their engineers that
>> they have already proved that recovery after a Unix DD command is
>> impossible.
>>
>> http://16systems.com/zero/index.html
> 
> I don't believe it. In the mid 1960's I recorded songs off the radio on a reel 
> to reel tape recorder (hope the RIAA doesn't break down my door for that). 
> Sometimes I'd record over songs already recorded. When I did, if you listened 
> carefully, you could hear the old song. If you listened carefully, you could 
> recognize the old song.
> 

Did you first write over the tapes with all inputs turned off?

I think that is what happens with DD, but, don't know for certain.  The
fact that the government agencies and disk recovery companies declare
that it is impossible to recover drive data after a DD command, when
they all have much to gain by doing a recovery, speaks volumes to me...