Erase Data On CD Or DVD Permanently

Data CDs and DVDs that are no longer needed pose a few problems. Throwing them away could be a privacy risk because everyone who finds them could simply read them and discover what data has been stored on the disks. Destroying them by cutting, scratching or breaking on the other hand might release chemicals to the environment.

Lite-On developed the Smart Erase technique to give users a reliable way of erasing the data on CDs and DVDs without damaging the disk. To make it clearer, the technique is compatible to all CD-R and DVD-R disks, not only their rewritable counterparts.

Smart Erase overwrites the data contained on the disk with random characters much like the tools that can erase files or the free space of a hard drive so that the data is not recoverable afterwards. Nero 7 Essentials which ships with the retail versions of each DVD writer will have that feature build in which can be used in combination with one of the announced Lite-On DVD writers.

The first DVD writers are expected to hit shelves in September and October:

• iHAP322 is a 22X DVD writer with PATA connection
• iHAP422 is a 22X DVD writer with PATA connection and LightScribe
• iHAS322 is a 22X DVD writer with SATA connection
• iHAS422 is a 22X DVD writer with SATA connection and LightScribe

The new technique supports two modes: Quick Erase will only erase data in the lead in track and the first track of the CD / DVD while Full Erase will erase the full disk.