Misinformation about anything leads to problems. The same goes for hard drive destruction. There are numerous myths about data destruction that have been circulating for quite some time.

Some people believe that implementing certain tactics helps protect their data. However, the truth couldn’t be further from it. These myths lead people to believe that their data is safely destroyed when in reality, it might be still out there, vulnerable and ripe for the picking by some hacker.

Therefore, you must be aware of the real truth behind some common misconceptions. Let’s take a look at some commonly believed myths:

Water Destroys a Hard Drive

It is commonly believed that dumping your hard drive in water can get rid of all the data on it.

This is (obviously) a myth. Hard drives are protected and sealed carefully, and a layer of water cannot destroy its data. The electronic components might stop working, but the data inside the hard drive can be recovered.

Magnets Can Be Used to Wipe Data

It is a commonly believed myth that using magnets can destroy the data present on a hard drive. This myth comes from the earlier days of hard drives – when they used magnetic tapes to store data.

However, it is highly unlikely that magnets can be used to erase data. Even if it can be done –hypothetically – the magnet needs to be much stronger than an average MRI or Tesla magnet.

Software Programs can Erase the Data

Most users think that deleting a file can permanently erase that data. However, this is nothing but a misconception. The data might seem like it’s deleted, but it can be easily recovered by anyone who knows how to use data recovery software.

Formatting Destroy the Drives

Another commonly believed myth is that formatting removes and destroys all the data present on the drive. However, it is easily retrievable by hackers out there. This is quite like deleting individual files, in that the data is never deleted; the place where the data is stored is just marked as empty, which means the operating system knows that it can store more data there.

Final Word

Hard drive destruction is essential in order to destroy the data permanently. What can be done, you ask? Physical destruction. Run your drives through a specialized shredder before dumping them in a bin. This makes sure that the data is non-recoverable.