Nwipe Explained

Nwipe
Screenshot Size:	250px
Developer:	Martijn van Brummelen
Latest Release Version:	v0.35^[1]
Operating System:	Linux
Platform:	x86
Language:	English
Genre:	Secure erase
License:	GPLv2

nwipe is a Linux computer program used to securely erase data. It is maintained by Martijn van Brummelen and is free software, released under the GNU General Public License 2.0 licence. The program is a fork of the dwipe program that was previously incorporated in the DBAN secure erase disk.^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

nwipe was created to allow dwipe to be run outside DBAN, using any host distribution. It utilizes a simple text-based ncurses user interface or can be run directly from the command line. It is available as an installable package in the repositories of many Linux distributions, including Debian and Ubuntu.^{[3] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]}

nwipe was first released as version 0.17 on 20 October 2014.^[11]

Erasing methods

nwipe can be set to use a number of different patterns, through the method selection:^[6]

• Default - DoD Short - The United States Department of Defense 5220.22-M^[12] short 3 pass wipe (passes 1, 2 & 7).
• Zero Fill - Fills the device with zeros, in a single pass.
• RCMP TSSIT OPS-II - Royal Canadian Mounted Police Technical Security Standard, OPS-II
• DoD 5220.22M - The United States Department of Defense 5220.22-M full 7 pass wipe.
• Gutmann Wipe - Peter Gutmann's method for the Secure Deletion of Data from Magnetic and Solid-State Memory.
• PRNG Stream - Fills the device with a stream from the PRNG.
• Verify only - Only reads the device and checks that it is all zero.
• HMG IS5 enhanced - Secure Sanitation of Protectively Marked Information or Sensitive Information

It uses two types of pseudo random number generators:^[6]

• Mersenne Twister
• ISAAC

Employment

nwipe has also been incorporated in free software rescue toolkit packages, such as the All in One - System Rescue Toolkit, Parted Magic, and SystemRescue.^{[3] [6] [13] [14]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Release v0.35 · martijnvanbrummelen/nwipe. GitHub.
2. Web site: Unofficial fork of DBAN . Nathan . Rennie-Waldock . . 24 December 2015. https://archive.today/20201226155548/https://github.com/NHellFire/dban. 26 December 2020 . live.
3. Web site: Nwipe . https://web.archive.org/web/20180207121841/http://www.andybev.com/index.php/Nwipe . live . 2018-02-07 . 10 August 2018 . Beverley . Andrew . March 2010.
4. Web site: nwipe. 22 February 2018 . Vanbrummelen . Martijn. github.com. 6 December 2017. https://archive.today/20201226155406/https://github.com/martijnvanbrummelen/nwipe/. 26 December 2020 . live.
5. Web site: Nwipe. 5 March 2020. Free Software Foundation. Free Software Foundation . directory.fsf.org. 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200305193933/https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Nwipe. 5 March 2020. live.
6. Web site: How-To Erase with nwipe . 25 December 2020. Hunt . Adam . . 25 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201225143247/https://dl.fullcirclemagazine.org/issue164_en.pdf. 25 December 2020 . live .
7. Web site: nwipe - securely erase disks. 23 April 2021. . manpages.ubuntu.com. 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20210423151928/http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/hirsute/man1/nwipe.1.html. 23 April 2021. live.
8. Web site: nwipe package in Ubuntu. 5 March 2020. Launchpad (website). launchpad.net. 15 March 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20131016045623/https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nwipe. 16 October 2013. live.
9. Web site: Package: nwipe (0.25-1) . 5 March 2020. Debian. packages.debian.org. 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200305193327/https://packages.debian.org/stable/nwipe. 5 March 2020. live.
10. Web site: Best disk wiping tools for hard drives, smartphones and SSDs. 5 March 2020. Techworld Staff . techworld.com. 10 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180826163019/https://www.techworld.com/security/best-disk-wiping-tools-securely-cleaning-hard-drives-smartphones-ssds-3627310/. 26 August 2018. dead.
11. Web site: 0.17. 26 December 2020. van Brummelen. Martijn. github.com. 20 October 2014. https://archive.today/20201226155009/https://github.com/martijnvanbrummelen/nwipe/releases/tag/0.17. 26 December 2020. live.
12. Web site: U.S. National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (DoD 5220.22-M) . . dtic.mil . 2006 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080822052147/http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pub1.html . 2008-08-22.
13. Web site: All in One - System Rescue Toolkit. 22 February 2018. Vreeland. Paul . 2 January 2018. https://archive.today/20201226155513/https://paul.is-a-geek.org/aio-srt/. 26 December 2020 . live.
14. Web site: Wipe Hard Drive Clean Using Free Software . 5 March 2020. Garcia. Pablo . Geeky Projects. 26 April 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20170606043100/http://www.geekyprojects.com/storage/wipe-hard-drive-clean-using-free-software/. 6 June 2017. live.