Wiped

I hope you've read this odd TPM story about Scott Bloch, who runs the Office of Special Counsel, a watchdog agency within the Bush administration. Bloch is himself the target of investigation, due to accusations of religious and anti-gay discrimination. Late last year, he called a tech services company to have the hard drive on his work 'puter wiped.

Ostensibly, he was having virus trouble -- but every virus I've ever heard of was "cured" through a simple wipe and a re-installation of the OS and programs. (This is why the compu-gods gave us Norton Ghost.) The tech guys did a seven level wipe, which is something you do only when you are trying to hide data from the FBI's forensic investigators. He also had two laptops undergo the same process.

Here's the part I don't get:

The total charge was $1,149, paid with an agency credit card, the receipt shows. The receipt says a seven-level wipe was performed but doesn't mention any computer virus.

For that kind of money, why not just buy a new drive? $200 buys a hell of a lot, these days. Toss the old one into the Potomac. Why would you spend $50 to repair a $20 can-opener?

Best practice is to keep ALL data (emails, chat logs, porn, your screenplay) on a separate drive.

Or: He could have done a seven-level wipe using software purchased for cash at Frys. I realize that Bosch is no tech-head, but if your ass is on the line, it pays to spend a few nights doing research.