OT: Destroying old media

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bobby
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Bobby

I cleared out my backup drawer recently and I through-out lots of CD/DVD
disks.

Is there any way of securely destroying them. Not that I have top-secret
stuff on them - but I don't like the idea of them lying around a garbage tip
for several years.

Cheers.

Bobby
 
The only true way to destroy your CD/DVD media is to dispose of it the same
way you would a hard drive. Plan and simple throw it in a fire. Shattering
the disks will also make sure no one accidentally finds your old media and
it’s a lot easier and much more fun to just keep breaking them.



But if you are afraid that 150 years down the line some archeologist is
going to find your CD’s full or pr0n and pictures of the family you should
melt them things in a fire.
 
Bobby said:
I cleared out my backup drawer recently and I through-out lots of CD/DVD
disks.

Is there any way of securely destroying them. Not that I have top-secret
stuff on them - but I don't like the idea of them lying around a garbage tip
for several years.
Click to expand...

Breaking a CD/DVD into two pieces makes it very, very difficult to
recover data from it. It would cost someone *a lot* to recover data from
such a disk.
 
Donald said:
But if you are afraid that 150 years down the line some archeologist is
going to find your CD’s full or pr0n and pictures of the family you should
melt them things in a fire.
Click to expand...

A CDR is barely readable after 15 years, never mind 150! Entropy is your
friend here.
 
Agreed but some people have a vast level of paranoia, not to mention it is
also fund to start a fire and burn CDs, beer cans, and other crap.
 
Donald said:
Agreed but some people have a vast level of paranoia, not to mention it is
also fund to start a fire and burn CDs, beer cans, and other crap.
Click to expand...

Oh yes, fires are fun. I have an 8' mountain of old timber/boxes of
paper/packaging waiting to be burnt this summer. <grin>
 
Bobby said:
I cleared out my backup drawer recently and I through-out lots of
CD/DVD disks.

Is there any way of securely destroying them. Not that I have
top-secret stuff on them - but I don't like the idea of them lying
around a garbage tip for several years.
Click to expand...

A couple of seconds in the microwave burns up the reflective layer and looks
pretty. Nice sparks!
 
In message <<[email protected]>> Grunff
Breaking a CD/DVD into two pieces makes it very, very difficult to
recover data from it. It would cost someone *a lot* to recover data from
such a disk.
Click to expand...

Microwave it for 1-2 seconds, then take a metal brush and brush off the
loose metallic flakes -- You'll end up with a clear frisbee in about 10
seconds.
 
I cleared out my backup drawer recently and I through-out lots of CD/DVD
disks.

Is there any way of securely destroying them. Not that I have top-secret
stuff on them - but I don't like the idea of them lying around a garbage tip
for several years.

Cheers.

Bobby
Click to expand...

Bobby, nobody is likely to want your data bad enough to go to any extreme
measures, you can simply take any sharp object and put a ton of scratches
on the top surface, or break them, or put them in a microwave, or just
stack them up and strike with a hatchet, or pour gasoline all over the
desk and light it, or let them set up in a bucket of concrete, or
super-glue them to your car tires and peel out, or put on golf shoes and
tapdance overtop of them, or use them for target practice, or umm, just
thow them away so anyone who comes across them, will think they're
worthless trash.
 
I cleared out my backup drawer recently and I through-out lots of CD/DVD
disks.

Is there any way of securely destroying them. Not that I have top-secret
stuff on them - but I don't like the idea of them lying around a garbage tip
for several years.

Cheers.

Bobby
Click to expand...

I just scratch up the top layer on CDs with a screw driver or
something like that. Its a really messy job. It breaks into flakes of
thin film that can stick to everything and be a pain to clean up.
Its best done in your garage or backyard. Some brands scratch very
easily while others take a lot of work.

You can break them apart with pliers too.

Ive only thrown away one brand of DVDs , and that was made a bit
different. There was a heavy coating on top and a film underneath it
in the middle of the disk like a sandwich. So I couldnt scratch it off
, I had to break it apart with pliers. However it was really easy to
break apart.
 
Bobby said:
I cleared out my backup drawer recently and I through-out lots of CD/DVD
disks.

Is there any way of securely destroying them. Not that I have top-secret
stuff on them - but I don't like the idea of them lying around a garbage tip
for several years.
Click to expand...

Put them in an AOL CD-ROM case and bin them.
 
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