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A step backwards for security
Seems to me this is a step backwards for security. Why should random numbers (hardware or otherwise) be better at wiping a disk than deliberately chosen binary patterns?

I suggest a marching sequence of bits, eg.:

Pass 1: 11001100110011001100110011
Pass 2: 01100110011001100110011001
Pass 3: 00110011001100110011001100
Pass 4: 10011001100110011001100110
Pass 5: 11001100110011001100110011
Pass 6: 01100110011001100110011001
etc.

After a few rounds of this pattern (and alternate the sequence with other patterns) the disk surface will be pretty much unrecoverable. You might* be able to get something back but the sheer expense of the operation would mean nobody would even try unless there were billions and billions of $$$ at stake.

Nope, VIA is just pushing the security equivalent of snake oil here and getting a lot of free advertising from it out of the press. Wow!!! *HARDWARE GENERATED* random numbers!!!! Gosh!!!!!


[*] We're not talking about some "undelete" utility. We're talking about taking the entire disk surface apart atom by atom with a tunneling electron microscope and running some statistical analysis on it which would give a _probability_ for each bit.
Posted by: Jomo_z   Posted on: 09/17/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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A step backwards for security  Jomo_z | 09/17/04
You are wrong  NonZealot | 09/17/04
ROFL!  Loverock Davidson | 09/18/04
Wow! Are you sure you're not a zealot? (NT)  Linux_Developer | 09/18/04
sorry but you are wrong  zijiang | 09/18/04
Randomness is much better than set patterns  Root User | 09/18/04
I'm not so sure...  Jomo_z | 09/19/04
Um... you don't know what you're talking about...  Root User | 09/19/04
What I want to know  zijiang | 09/18/04
Depends...  Martin Marvinski | 09/18/04
Huh?  Jomo_z | 09/19/04
Ok...  Martin Marvinski | 09/19/04
No  toadlife | 09/18/04
See previous post.  Jomo_z | 09/19/04

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