- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows 3.x/95/98/Me/2000/XP/Vista/NT
- Date added: March 26, 2009
- Total Downloads: 102,302
- Downloads last week: 904
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 20 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: Seth Rosenblatt on April 28, 2009
Darik's not kidding about the "nuke" in the name of his program: use DBAN only if you want to completely eradicate any trace of data on a hard drive. This is the ultimate in data shredding--there's no recovery once you've used it.
There are two work flows for using DBAN. When it loads, you can type "autonuke" and press Enter. From there, DBAN will show you the progress being made on wiping your hard drive's data. Larger HDs will take longer, of course. There's a more configurable option, as well. Hit Enter at the start-up screen, and the Interactive mode will let you select specific hard drives or partitions to be shredded. Use the space bar and up-arrow and down-arrow keys to navigate and select from shredding algorithm options, and press F10 to start the process.
Because DBAN loads before your operating system, there's not going to be much of an interface. If you're not familiar with the look and feel of DOS or changing your BIOS configuration, proceed with DBAN with extreme caution. DBAN must be loaded onto a CD, DVD, floppy disk, or USB thumbdrive to be used.
Publisher's description
From Darik Horn :Darik's Boot and Nuke ("DBAN") is a self-contained boot disk that securely wipes the hard disks of most computers. DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk that it can detect, which makes it an appropriate utility for bulk or emergency data destruction.
DBAN is a means of ensuring due diligence in computer recycling, a way of preventing identity theft if you want to sell a computer, and a good way to totally clean a Microsoft Windows installation of viruses and spyware. DBAN prevents or thoroughly hinders all known techniques of hard disk forensic analysis.
This version of Darik's Boot And Nuke is for use on CD and DVD media.
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 4.6 stars out of 20 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 8 user reviewsSee all 8 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
Version: Darik's Boot and Nuke for CD and DVD 1.07
Pros: Thhis programs returns a hard drive to ground zero and allows you to start over.
Cons: This program returns a hard drive to ground zero......This means that you had better backup what you want, because it will not be there once you run it.
Summary: This program was very easy to run and did just what it said it would. One of star programs in my PC Tool Box.
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Version: Darik's Boot and Nuke for CD and DVD 1.07
"Works everytime and the price is right! FREE!"
Pros: Completely destroys all of the data on any hard drive. The interface is just fine, anyone who has went through a BIOS before will be plenty familiar with it.
Cons: It does take a while. Anywhere from 2-4 hours. Still that is faster than some of my other options.
Summary: I've used it a few times now and it works just as well (if not better) as drilling holes in your hard drive. But the drive is now ready to be reused! Yay Dban!
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Version: Darik's Boot and Nuke for CD and DVD 1.07
Pros: worked great!
Cons: none, product worked great
Summary: worked great!
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Version: Darik's Boot and Nuke for CD and DVD 1.07
Pros: It provides a number of erasing options
Cons: The interface could be easier to use.
Summary: It's free. It does the job. It provides options.
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Version: Darik's Boot and Nuke for CD and DVD 1.07
"Easy to use, does its job as far as I can tell"
Pros: Wipes your drives like it says
Cons: It takes a long time. But that's life.
Summary: Does the job. Easy to use. If you're decommissioning your PC, using something like this is a REQUIREMENT. Otherwise you risk exposing your personal data (credit cards, social security numbers, browsing history, etc) to the next user of your PC. ... read more >>
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