From owner-freebsd-security  Thu Nov 18 22:57:45 1999
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Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 23:57:36 -0700
From: Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com>
Organization: Softweyr LLC
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To: Kris Kennaway <kris@hub.freebsd.org>
Cc: TrouBle <trouble@netquick.net>, freebsd-security@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject: Re: secure filesystem wiping
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Kris Kennaway wrote:
> 
> 
> I don't understand why you think that the person who wrote the Linux tool
> is privy to some kind of enlightened knowledge which us poor FreeBSD'ers
> (and the security researches who authored the aforementioned papers on
> secure deletion) aren't. If Wes Peters wrote some impressive drivel to
> attach to his 'obliterate' program about how kick-arse it is, would it
> make you happier?

In fact, wipe uses the same overwrite algorithm obliterate does.

The problem is trouBle seems to have assumed wipe has a really neat feature
that just isn't there: the ability to zot disk sectors that are not currently
allocated, on a live filesystem.  This is a neat idea, but well past my knowlege 
of filesystems at this time.

> AXIOM 1) take all claims made by the vendor about the abilities of
> their software with a very large handful of NaCl.
> 
> Exercise for the novice reader: apply Axiom 1 to the Linux 'wipe' program.
> 
> Exercise 2: apply axiom 1 to the secure deletion utility "FileSpanker"
> which can be found at http://www.freebsd.org/~kris/filespanker.sh

Snort.

-- 
            "Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"

Wes Peters                                                         Softweyr LLC
wes@softweyr.com                                           http://softweyr.com/


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