Measure and control IT security

Raleigh, NC (AKS-Labs) September 25, 2006 — AKS-Labs, has release a version 1.1 of Shred Agent, a file shredder utility that works in background mode and does secure deletion of all deleted files.

With the wider use of encryption systems, an attacker wishing to gain access to sensitive data is forced to look elsewhere for information. One way to attack is the recovery of supposedly erased data from hard disk or random-access memory.

Shred Agent is designed to protect your privacy. When you delete files in Windows it is possible to undelete or recover them using different file recovery utilities. If you want to make sure that the file you delete cannot be restored by any means, Shred Agent is the right tool for you.

To make sure nobody else has access to your private files, you might use some encryption software. But encryption is useless if the original plaintext can be recovered. Wiping is the process of writing some information directly into the space where the old file was located.

Shred Agent works on hardware level, thus wiping the files completely, eliminating the possibility of ever recovering them. What makes it different from most file wiping utilities currently available on the market is the capability to control the wiping of files in the background. For example you can configure the corresponding filters to wipe temporary file created by office programs.

If Shred Agent is installed on a server and a remote user is trying to delete a file from the “Include” list, Shred Agent will wipe the file via network.

Shred Agent can be customized to suit just your needs. Configure filters to wipe only the files with certain extensions or belonging to a specific directory. Make sure Shred Agent is launched every time you switch on your computer. Record all the information about the files being wiped to a log file.

Read more at www.shredagent.com

A fifth of secondhand PCs finding their way onto the resale market in the UK, Australia, North America and Germany still contain sensitive data on their hard discs: Research by BT, the University of Glamorgan in Wales and Edith Cowan University in Australia, has found that while 41% of the disks were unreadable, 20% contained sufficient information to identify individuals.

The research, based on the acquisition of 300 PCs from auctions, computer fairs and on-line purchases, also found that 5% of the machines held commercial information on organisations, and that 5% held “illicit data”.

Some of the information contained on the disks included payroll information, mobile telephone numbers, copies of invoices, employee names and photos, IP addresses, network information, illicit audio and video files, and financial details including bank and credit card accounts.

Although the research results show that there has been an improvement in the number of owners properly erasing data, a large number of the discs examined still contained significant volumes of sensitive information. Despite widening security awareness, more regulations and significant publicity, organisations are still not modifying their procedures to ensure that information is effectively removed before disposing of computer discs.

See full article at ComputerWeekly.com.

This blog is run by the authors of QuickWiper, a Windows security program. QuickWiper allows you to delete files with simplicity and ease. When deleting files with QuickWiper, you can choose a fast single pass, or the most secure NSA erasure algorithm.