Re: is shred available?

[Hugh Graham <hugh@openbsd.org>]

On Fri, Dec 01, 2000 at 12:01:45AM -0700, Jill Lundquist wrote:
> 
> Is there an OpenBSD equivalent to the Linux 'shred' command, something
> that will not just delete a file, but will overwrite it with random
> data a number of times?  What would it be called?

>From rm(1):

 -P    Overwrite regular files before deleting them.  Files are overwrit-
       ten three times, first with the byte pattern 0xff, then 0x00, and
       then 0xff again, before they are deleted.

You can find papers on restoring latent magnetic images from a once
only overwritten file online.. apparently rm -P's method is sufficient.

/Hugh

> 
> >From what I've heard of the kinds of detail that went into 'shred',
> like encouraging the disk head to move as much as possible to
> leave no trace of one or zero in its path, it doesn't sound, ah,
> highly portable.
> 
> Jill Lundquist		                     jill@chezns.org
> "The first butcher I saw as a child had a wooden leg, and to this
>  day I have an unreasonable feeling that butchers with two genuine
>  legs are impostors."            -Robertson Davies
>