Patricia
Even if you don’t consider yourself a mathematical person, data is something you use in your everyday life to make decisions. You use data to figure out what to wear, what route to take to work, and what to buy at the store.
Whether you’re a statistician, marketer, or nurse, everyone can benefit from learning more about data and how it works. To get a better grasp of data, it’s important to learn about the difference between data erasure and data deletion.
Read this guide to learn about the difference between these two processes.
What is Data Deletion?
When you delete a file from your computer, it automatically goes into the recycling bin. This gives you a chance to reload it in case you’ve made a mistake and want it back.
When you clear out your recycling bin, you might think that this means your files are gone forever. However, this isn’t necessarily true. When you delete a file, it’s removed from your desktop or the folder where it was saved. However, the data still remains on your hard drive.
Your computer may eventually need to overwrite (aka, get rid of) some of the data on your hard drive to make room for new data, thus, permanently eliminating some of the data.
However, until this happens, anything you delete can be found and recovered, meaning your data isn’t permanently deleted. If you have sensitive information you’d like to see gone for good, this can be a bit worrisome. That’s where data erasure comes in.
What is Data Erasure?
Data erasure is the process in which data is permanently eliminated from your hard drive. With the right wiping software, you can completely fill your entire hard drive with junk data, so the data you want to be removed gets permanently deleted. You can check out these top solutions for data erasure.
This process typically needs to be done several times to ensure the sensitive data is permanently removed. You’ll also need to conduct tests afterward to ensure none of the sensitive data remains.
Other than shedding your hard drive, this is the only failproof way to remove data permanently from your computer.
Data Erasure vs. Data Deletion: Other Differences
Now that you have an understanding of the overall differences between data erasure and data deletion, let’s take a look at some other key differences:
- Implementation Method: You can delete data manually with the click of a few quicks. To erase data, you’ll need to install a software program.
- Recoverability: You can recover deleted data using a DIY recovery tool or other manual techniques. On the other hand, there is no way to retrieve erased data.
- Technical Mechanism: With data deletion, the data’s address is deleted from the master file table. With data erasure, specific binary patterns are used to overwrite the data.
Data Erasure vs. Data Deletion: Which is Right For You?
Now that you know the difference between data erasure and data deletion, it’s time to decide which method is right for you. If you decide you need to erase your data, then it’s time to start looking into software programs to help you do so.
Just remember, once the data has been erased, there’s virtually no chance of recovering it. Check back in with our blog for more data tips!
