Someone is Spying on me i need to do low-level format plz help

[Scorpion999]

Oh yea the New partition i formating right now
says "Partition1 (New original) 95386MB (95385 MB free)
Am i doing it correcT?

[foxyloxley]

OK
I'm lost ...........

WHY do you feel the need to delete an entire HDD ?????
you CANNOT REALLY believe the RIAA are going to come for you over a couple of illegal D/Led movies

and early on, you then stated you would have to PAY for some S/W .......

SO YOU GOT IT ELSEWHERE

meaning you stole the sotware to hide the fact you stole software
you are posting in a meandering style
typical of the BS we used to get a lot of

so, as Nihil has asked
why not tell us what you REALLY wanted to nuke the HDD for ?
I, for one, think this one is a crock

you are even suggesting that because the HDD sizes don't match because THEY are after you

it just doesn't add up

[Scorpion999]

Well foxyloxley The quick answer is you dont need to know why i want my HHD wiped
but needless to say i will feel much safer.

As for the S/W it has nothing to do with my current situation
is not software related is movie related.
and the alternative S/W link was found on a normal website and it was not a crack.

If you want the longer answer read bellow:

In my opinion there is no points that others know about all personal reason
for doing things, I prefer to have quick solution not lot of question to why i want it.

If someone is totaly decided to wipe his HHD then he surely will do.
another thing is if there is doubt whatever or not to do a wipe.

Is like a Person going to Trainstation asking for a ticket to another city.
On the trainstation ticket sales he get "Sir, you dont need a ticket this is the best City no need travel to another city stay here"
This surely not convince the traveller that still insist buying a trainticket
Then he get the reply "Sir, please tell me your personal reason of wanting a traintickets"

Surely he dont have to answer that, except on some airport security
but is not usual elsewhere.

The trainstations not ask you want ticket
ok here you go.

same in a computer shop.
You go ask for antivirus and the shop "You wont need a antivirus get a Mac instead"
But you want Windows that day so you say "I dont want a Mac today but i need advice for an antivirus"
The shop answer "Ok, tell me the personal reason why"

Point is you dont have to tell more than you realy think is nesesary.

ok hope that clean up the confusion

[rcgreen]

In my opinion there is no points that others know about all personal reason
for doing things, I prefer to have quick solution not lot of question to why i want it.

Kinda thought you'd say something like that, I just had a feeling...

[nihil]

Hmmmm,

1. Install Windows XP on a single partition
2. Run the recovery CD. That will install drivers and probably create the recovery partition.
3. Please follow this very carefully! You need to get ZoneAlarm installation from another machine and burn it to CD. OK there are other firewalls but I use ZA (free version). Otherwise you need to be sure that the XP firewall is active, it should be good enough for this stage, but ZA is better.

Make sure that you have an active firewall before you connect to the internet.
4. Run Windows updates.
5. If you use Microsoft products such as Office, then go to "Microsoft Updates" rather than Windows. You get the lot there

6. Update your device drivers
7. You might as well check for BIOS updates, having gone for a total clean install?

Load the rest of your stuff and start enjoying things..........

Please ignore the small reported size differences, the system uses a little bit of space to work in and to store partition and format data.

"The Bleeps"

My first thought was an alarm, or other device with a low battery warning......... that made sense to me because he is below you, and a smoke alarm is fixed to the ceiling, which would be your floor.

This must drive him mad, and he must have fixed it by now (that is what it is designed to do as a safety feature!).

So, what else could it be? Obviously he must accept it as being "normal"?

I would guess that it could be a document scanner scanning multiple documents.

My wife just asked me to scan some stuff to go into a Powerpoint presentation. I haven't used the scanner for over a year. I load the documents into the feeder and set it going............ It takes about 90 seconds then gives two sharp beeps for each sheet/document.

Could this be what he is doing?

Data Security:

I would suggest that you consider this:

1. There is no software on this planet that will recover data that has been overwritten even once.

2. The concepts of physical data recovery are just that: "concepts". In very carefully controlled laboratory conditions it has been shown to be possible to recover limited amounts of data. Modern hard drives make this more difficult, as the recovery techniques rely on "track overlay" and "magnetic remnance".

3. A spin-up table starts at around $250,000 for a decent one.......... a "clean room" maybe $1,000,000.......... a technician around $70,000/year. A decent electron tunnelling microscope isn't cheap (no Pringle cans here please)........... Local police forces cannot afford this, National police forces cannot afford it, only.......................they can.

You show a desire to totally wipe information, yet you seem surprised, and even offended, when you are questioned?

What planet have you been living on, these past few years? Don't you remember the World Trade Center, Bali, Madrid Railway, London Underground and Buses?............ we do!

You will be caught through your credit card transactions and your ISP logs, if you are doing something wrong. It would be professionally incompetent of me to let you think that you are "safe" because you have wiped your hard drive. I have seen successful prosecutions where they cannot even find the computer!

It is a fact that there has been no prosecution in the history of this Planet based on recovery of data from a hard drive that has been overwritten, even once.

I will not let you lapse into a false sense of security. This is a professional security site, not some corner computer shop. You must expect to be asked questions?

Hey, if you go to your doctor and say "I'm sick", do you expect him to write you a prescription for morphine sulphate?

[Scorpion999]

Thanks for any advice for a safer computer security and for helping me with the issue.

[nihil]

Hi,

I am back............. had to go to Mass.

Please make sure that you check your credit cards and bank statememnts and challenge anything you don't recognise.

I have had to help with a number of cases where people were accused of things that were simply them being fraud victims

Do get the "eraser" software I gave a link for. This is good for ongoing security.

Get CCleaner and run it when you finish internet browsing:

http://www.ccleaner.com/

Go here and get "RegistryProt":

http://www.diamondcs.com.au/software.php

Check out the "freeware" section for applications

Use Spybot Search & Destroy, in particular the "immunise" and "teatimer" features:

http://www.safer-networking.org/

Lots of other stuff there

Use FireFox with the noscript plug in

That should help keep you safe.

[foxyloxley]

it's a crock
just another [L]user from planet wackoff
THEY are after him, and we don't believe it .............
and dipstick, we ask questions because we know that our replies can get US into deep sh17 should it prove to be real - NOT

now you are banned, the forum has decided
it has decided you are a waste

if you had provided good solid evidence, not empirical, just solid, we would have helped, hell. Nihil WAS helping
just you were too dimm to realise [geek humour on DIM / DIMM ]

go get a clean tin foil hat on
we have seen it all before
I work in IT in a psychiatric unit, and you would fit right in

learn to listen, express thanks, and MOVE ON

someone needs to close this thread now, as it is just wasting electrons

[nihil]

Hi foxy~,

Actually this is a rather popular thread. The stats read :

5 days old
47 posts
964 reads

I could be wrong, but I think that it might be useful to add one or two bits that did not come up in the original discussion? I say that because we expect people to check to see if questions have already been answered, and we get a fair number of guests who are just looking for a solution.

So, here is my contribution:

1. I frequently come across machines that have been screwed up by corrupt operating systems, applications and all sorts of malware. The only sensible solution is to format and reinstall.

Now, I don't use the straight format, as that leaves all the rubbish on the drive to potentially cause problems?

I go to the harddrive manufacturer's site (actually I have most of them already downloaded) and get their disk management tools. I then run their wiping program, which is the modern day equivalent of a low level format.

Whilst it does this, it has the added benefit of checking and repairing the drive, or at least giving you a repair option.

If you find you have disk problems, then you just replace it, without wasting time reloading the OS, applications and the customer's data.

The manufacturer's utility will overwrite once, with a pattern that restores the drive to the condition it was in when it left the factory. Ready for a fresh install.

2. When I want to sell, donate, or otherwise recycle a drive; I consider what was on it and who it is going to. Normally, the process in #1 above is adequate. Otherwise I would use the (official) DoD 5220.22-M standard of three passes.

If you need more than that, you should destroy the drive............. at least as far as my MoD is concerned

Related thoughts:

1. It is not possible to recover data with software alone, from a drive that has been overwritten once.

If you think about it, that is how the drive is designed. It reads the last data, and that alone. Otherwise you would have total chaos and corruption?

To attempt recovery would require opening the drive and mounting the platters on something far more sensitive that the heads supplied with the drive.

That is destructive testing, and no civil court could authorise it. You are looking at the ambit of Law Enforcement and National Security Agencies here.

As far as the RIAA and MPAA are concerned; if it isn't there in plain view, they are stuffed. That is why they subpoena ISPs and go at it that way.

2. If you use sophisticated wiping and encryption software, you are sending a message in loud and clear: "I am here and I am up to no good" I am sure that we are all aware that the forces of darkness have a variety of other surveillance options at their disposal?

Act furtive, and people will be suspicious.......................

Just my thoughts...................

[foxyloxley]

all good Johnno
but the OP gave no good reason as to WHY they required the HDD to be completely wiped ..............

and as you are aware, if we help a ner do well to escape the forces of law and order [The Man ] then WE are held accountable

and yes, if you think you are being watched, so you encrypt your data for transmission, then MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, because from then on............. You ARE being watched