Destroy hardware software

It isn't. Hardware and software are different things. I'd say it would have to be hardware. You had to have hardware to write software on. A scanner is both hardware and software, the device itself is hardware all devices are hardware but the driver a program that runs it is software. Think if it this way. You can touch hardware, software is downloaded.

Log in. Computer Hardware. Software and Applications non-game. Computer Viruses. Study now. See answer 1. Best Answer. Virtually Destroy: Software can remove hardware from a computer, or prevent it from working properly. Physically Destroy: Although very unlikely if a computer kept in an uncooled room is using enough processing power and generating enough head it might start a fire and destroy the hardware.

Study guides. Computer Networking 27 cards. What is the most popular way an internal DVD drive interfaces with a motherboard. A DVD can only use the top surface for data. Which holds more data a microdrve or a zip drive. Both acids are dangerous to the environment and almost any compound.

This includes human skin, so you must handle them with the appropriate protective gear. Generally, this process is not advisable. Putting holes in a hard drive destroys its platter and ensures that nobody can use the data on it. So how do you drill the platter? Selecting a method of data destruction is not a decision that should be taken lightly.

Depending on the business, certain ways of destroying data may be preferable due to effectiveness, cost, and other factors. It is also important to be mindful of the following considerations:. Cybercrime is a concern for any business. You can imagine, however, how compounded that concern is for government agencies that hold a reservoir of sensitive information.

The NSA has issued a mandate that all computers must be degaussed after use. Not adhering to these guidelines can even be considered a crime in some cases. It is becoming the norm that any business that deals with the government will have zero tolerance for leaving data exposed. Most businesses, at the very minimum, keep track of routing numbers and bank information to pay their employees.

Therefore, big or small, your business should seriously consider destroying their data after their computers are done being used. When looking at the ways to destroy data , some of which can be expensive, it may be enticing to simply take matters into your own hands. It is also true that there is nothing that is keeping you from taking the hard drives out to your backyard, grabbing a sledgehammer, and smashing them to bits yourself.

This, however, is extremely dangerous, as well as other self-done methods. First of all, shards from broken hard drives can cause serious injury. Secondly, some businesses utilize a large number of computers. Also, other do it yourself methods are not advised either.

The chances of you having a magnet lying around in the house with enough power to immobilize the average hard drive is quite low. Many people often underestimate the dangers that are present when demolishing hard drives through their means. Another thing that people sometimes can take for granted is how proficient current hackers are becoming. Their methods are becoming much more advanced, and they can gain access to secure files with little time and effort. As this is the case, deleting files off of your computer is not an acceptable solution.

Data destruction is the only finite way to ensure the security of your sensitive files. As an alternative to destruction, there are also computer programs that can scrub your hard drive. Programs like Secure Erase will render the data on a hard drive in an unrecognizable form that hackers could not decipher.

This can be an effective solution, as well as being less costly. At the end of the day, any data that is scrambled through a program leaves the hard drive intact. While most programs are thorough, there is a possibility that not all of the data will be scrambled. Some businesses have their data already encrypted when it is being utilized. Brolin Empey said. Rimbo said. ZoFreX said.

Zed said. Lesley Clarke said. OnlineClaimsTester said. Angel said. Unknown said. Me said. Kelly said. Software CAN damage hardware. Alexandre, o Tabajara said. Bob Pagendarm said. Sell Annuity Payments said. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:. Email required Address never made public. Name required. Blog at WordPress. Follow Following. Oldskooler Ramblings Join 2, other followers. Sign me up. Already have a WordPress.

Log in now. One of the most notable viruses that attacked hardware was the Chernobyl virus. The Chernobyl virus was first detected in and corrupted data on the hard drive and sometimes the motherboard BIOS.

When a computer BIOS becomes corrupt, it causes the computer not to boot. Sophisticated viruses like Stuxnet are designed to damage hardware that's being controlled by computers. For example, Stuxnet was designed to target the centrifuges at Iran's enrichment facilities.

No computer hardware was damaged; however, the virus damaged the centrifuges because it disabled all of the system alerts that would have alerted something was wrong. This type of virus was capable of damaging hardware because the safety measures were disabled. However, this was one of the most sophisticated viruses ever written and was targeting a specific device.

If your computer got infected by Stuxnet, it would have done nothing to your computer. A PDoS permanent denial-of-service attack is not a virus, but a type of attack where a person exploits network equipment firmware by flashing it with malicious code.