I’m upgrading from PC to Mac. How can I securely delete and wipe everything on my old laptop? I have Sparrow Wallet on this PC so I want to ensure that nothing can be restored.
#asknostr #pc #mac #sparrowwallet
Discussion
https://dban.org/ is great, especially if you have non flash/SSD drive.
I’ll check it out. Thanks.
If you are selling it remove the drive completely.
Isn’t there a way to securely wipe the drive?
I believe in theory yes but can’t data be extracted from a drive even if wiped? Isn’t this what government agencies do? I thought erasing is technically overwriting and encrypting only. Maybe I understand it wrong.
Burn it 🔥
There has to be a way to securely wipe it? 🤔
I would destroy it. But you can connect it normally to your Mac and let it do the work. It should override it with all 0‘s.
What if I moved my stack to a new cold storage I created on the Mac? That way if the old drive was restored, there would be nothing to find on my old wallet/keys. My keys have never touched my old laptop.
Target practice, bonus points for some tannerite.
There has to be a way to securely wipe it? 🤔
Back in the day when we disposed of hard drives, we’d just smash them to bits
It seems like the consensus is to destroy the drive. The $100 to $200 I’d get for the old laptop is not worth my Bitcoin stack. Unless I created a new wallet on the new device and transferred my stack. Thoughts?
nostr:npub1kun5628raxpm7usdkj62z2337hr77f3ryrg9cf0vjpyf4jvk9r9smv3lhe Can you review the comments on this thread and give me your 2 sats? I appreciate your insight if you have any. 🙏🏻
Destroy the drive.
I remember when the credit union I worked for in Western Washington had to get rid of old server drives, they would have a range day. 🤣
One more question. What if I made a new cold storage on the Mac and moved the holdings. New keys and wallet data that never touches the old device. I could then wipe the old laptop and sell it like I would like to do. Or is a demo day for the drive still in my future?
If they did recover the info on the drive, they would now know your addresses that the Bitcoin was sent to. Wouldn't give them access to it, but if your keys aren't on the laptop right now, they also wouldn't have access. You're using a hardware wallet with Sparrow, right? Sparrow isn't holding your keys hot, I hope?
I have a Sparrow + Jade combo. My keys have always remained offline and have never been on my old laptop. This is why I don’t understand the destroy the drive answers I’m getting. My current keys are secure and offline. Yes, if the drive was restored, they could find the public address I sent my stack to but like you said, they wouldn’t have access to my keys.
Destroying the drive is always the answer if you have sensitive information on it. I suppose you just need to decide how sensitive you think your xpub is, since it doxxes the size of your stack, which could make you a target.
Anyone who recovered your xpub from that drive would know exactly how much Bitcoin you have associated with the private key on your Jade, and they would know that you have a hardware wallet, since the keys were not on the laptop. That would give them a significant amount of information to go on if they decided it was worth breaking in to find your hardware wallet.
That's without taking into consideration any other sensitive data you may have had on your laptop that hasn't been a part of this conversation already.
Hard drives aren't expensive. It's probably worth going full paranoid if you have any question about it and just replace the drive and let your buyer install whatever OS they want on the fresh drive.
Yep, then you don't have to worry anymore.
The small amount of fiat I’d get for my old laptop is not worth sacrificing my peace of mind and potentially doxxing myself and my stack in the worst case scenario. Appreciate your insight as always my friend!
That would secure your btc. Its true they could find where you sent it though. Why not keep the laptop as a backup for btc stuff?