Destroying Info on DVD

[Sanford]

<p>I've come across a shoe box full of DVD's containing my photographs. I already have these backed up in several places and don't need these. I want to destroy the info. I'm not talking about state secrets here, I just want to make them inaccessible to the local dumpster diver. I thinking several good scrapes with a screwdriver across the surface might do it. Any better ideas? I don't want to spend a lot of time doing this.</p>

[evan_goulet]

<p>Place and individual DVD in a microwave oven, data side up. Turn on microwave for 5 seconds. Snap, crackle, pop... done.</p>

<p>http://www.wikihow.com/Microwave-a-CD</p>

[don_cooper]

<p>My method is: place disk on hard floor, pound with hammer.</p>

[bobatkins]

<p>Score them and then snap 'em in half (wear safety glasses and gloves while doing this).</p>

[Sanford]

<p>I like the microwave idea! This isn't going to taint the taste of everything I cook form now on is it? I once worked to a cable TV system. The boss had only two rules, 1-no porn in the building (because it would inevitably wind up being broadcast), and 2-no fish in the microwave oven.</p>

[Former P.N Member]

<p>My paper shredder does credit cards and CDs/DVDs.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/792060/Ativa-LD100-8-Sheet-Cross-Cut/'">Office Depot Shredder</a></p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Just as a precaution, some microwave ovens may "prefer" if you also have a cup of water or something else in the chamber too. My Memorex cross-shredder is just barely capable of shredding a disk with a little help. I won't try it again.</p>

[richard_cochran]

<p>DVD's are more resistant than you might think to minor surface scratches, so it might take quite a bit of screwdriver scraping to guarantee that absolutely nothing can be read. Scratching the DVD might make some photos unreadable, while leaving other photos OK.</p>

<p>I "fold" them in half until they break. But the other suggestions should work, too. Or if you saw them in half using a circular saw, jigsaw, or table saw, that ought to take care of the issue. </p>

<p>Perhaps a government lab could recover a bit of data at great expense and trouble, but once a DVD is broken in half, it won't fit in a regular DVD reader, and no private entity is going to recover anything without a huge amount of expensive, specialized, and difficult work. </p>

[JDMvW]

<p>I just tried the "microwave" solution, together with a half-cup of water, of course. It was spectacular, but there were aqua blue sparks! I'm not kidding. It acted like what happens when you accidently put some metal in the oven. I think I am personally back to scoring and breaking. [i could see this as a form of oracle, where the cracks are read by a seer (discomancy?)]</p>

<p>Here is a scan of what a CD looks like after a microwave exposure (1 min at f/4.5).</p><div></div>

[KyleE]

<p>scratching the plastic side won't destroy the data and they can be resurfaced. Scratching off the aluminum coating on the backside (label side) will destroy the data. Or you can just break them in half.</p>

[KyleE]

<p>scratching the plastic side won't destroy the data and they can be resurfaced. Scratching off the aluminum coating on the backside (label side) will destroy the data. Or you can just break them in half.</p>

<p>The data on a DVD and CD is written spiraling from the inside edge out all the way around in a circular pattern. Really the safest thing to do is to destroy the aluminum coating on the label side of the disc.</p>

[derek_kennedy]

<p>Breaking in half can cause a trillion very sharp pieces to fly everywhere so yeah - glasses would be a good idea along with gloves.</p>

<p>Neat tho when I did this: some silvery floaties floated down to the ground too.</p>

[py-photography]

<p>bonfire in the backyard?<br>

Target practice?<br>

Let me 5 year old play with them..</p>

[pcnilssen]

<p>The low-tech solution: Cut the DVD's in multiple pieces with a pair of scissors!</p>

[JAPster]

<p>a. Paper shredder with CD/DVD slot. Takes about 3 sec per disk. Disk is reduced to many small slivers that would be difficult to read.</p>

<p>b. Take a sharp pointed pocket knife blade and deeply score many small x's all over the data side of the disk.</p>

 

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>All but the lightest-duty paper shredders can handle a CD or DVD. If you don't have a shredder, someone near you you does, paid for with your credit card ;-)</p>

[mike_stemberg]

<p>I use my kitchen scissors to cut disc into several pieces...and (when I remember) dispose of them pieces in separate places.</p>

[will_daniel1]

<p>Pop a few staples into it and then just dare anyone to try to get data off of it. You might need one that's a little stronger than the typical office stapler.</p>

<p>Will</p>

[ken_kuzenski1]

<p>I second Mr. Ingold's advice; at work I often had CDs and DVDs with medical data on them. I would feed those into a simple paper shredder that cost perhaps $40 from an office-supply place. It didn't have a dedicated CD slot but never had any problem turning them into tiny unreadable chunks. Cutting them into a few sections with shears is also very secure, I think, but takes a little longer.</p>

 

[Sanford]

<p>I'm just folding a rag over them and snapping them in half - seems sufficient.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>My paper shredder also has a slot for CD/DVD type optical discs and credit cards.</p>

[jack_fisher1]

<p>My trimming board with the big knife cuts them in half just fine.</p>

[richard_lyman1]

<p> Toss the whole box into a wood chipper and record the results with video. Post on YouTube I want to see it!</p>

[photojen]

<p>Paper shredder...</p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>You can recover up to 90% of the data from a disc using readily available forensic software (q.v., Infinadyne.com) if you can reassemble it sufficiently with Scotch tape to fit into a reader. If you aren't selling dope probably nobody will bother. Then again, who knows? A poorly executed attempt at destruction implies there is something valuable on board. Then again, if there are nothing but digital images, you have the satisfaction that the would-be spy has completely wasted his time.</p>