Updated July 21, 2017 Backup any data that you want to keep. Install the KillDisk software on your computer (see “Additional Resources,” below). This is a free piece of software that will write garbage to your hard drive many times until it cannot be recovered. Start KillDisk and use it to create a bootable CD that will destroy all data on a hard drive. Leave this disc in the CD tray and restart your computer. Follow the on-screen instructions to wipe all data from your computer irrevocably. For most people, this is enough security. Remove the hard drive or destroy it. If you really want the greatest degree of protection, you will have to physically destroy the drive. Open the hard drive case and destroy the platters inside, or use a torch to burn a hole through the drive. It will be virtually impossible to obtain data off the disk afterward. Once you start destroying the data on your computer, it will obviously be inaccessible even to you, so make sure you have copies of any data you want to keep. Resources Warnings Writer Bio
