is it safe?

[Diroga]

hifty: make a program that will delete files and then over write them mulitpul times to make it a un-able-to-get-back-file. DOD grade is prefurable. hifty:

[Z!re]

Mac over at www.qbasic.com forum (the network54 one) was working on some program like that some time ago... I think it was Mac...

Look over there, it might be in the "Programs I'm proud of" Section...

[Sterling Christensen]

When overwriting a file, sometimes the new data isn't wrtten over the old data, but instead at some other location (well, with some filesystems anyway). That means there's no way to be sure that a file is not recoverable.

However... assuming the filesystem isn't something like Reiser3 (where the tails of multiple files could share a single sector), the program could find every sector used by the file, and overwrite that sector repeatedly. But that would require low level hard drive access.

[moochthemonkey]

Since where on similar discussion, I've noticed for a while how damaging QB can be. You can be some mad rebel and hate the world, and be a good programmer at the same time. You could make a program that supposedly is a game of some sort, include source to the game, but in the exe file, the game's first command is the KILL statement..and in that commandstring there is the C drive with wild characters :barf: :barf: :barf:

And the bad thing is that it wont appear as a virus in a virus scan either... Is there a way I can detect if a qb program has a kill command or not?

[Moneo]

hifty: make a program that will delete files and then over write them mulitpul times to make it a un-able-to-get-back-file. DOD grade is prefurable. hifty:

Do you remember the Norton Utilities? They contained a utility called WIPE which does what you want. I don't know about the DOD grade, but I'll find my manual and check it out.

If you can't find Norton's WIPE, and you really don't have to have DOD grading, then I can send you my own utility to do this. If you like, write to me at:
moneo@prodigy.net.mx
and we'll agree on something.
*****

[DrV]

Since where on similar discussion, I've noticed for a while how damaging QB can be. You can be some mad rebel and hate the world, and be a good programmer at the same time. You could make a program that supposedly is a game of some sort, include source to the game, but in the exe file, the game's first command is the KILL statement..and in that commandstring there is the C drive with wild characters :barf: :barf: :barf:

And the bad thing is that it wont appear as a virus in a virus scan either... Is there a way I can detect if a qb program has a kill command or not?

You could only use open-source programs... or you could use a disassembler and see if the code for the qb runtime's 'KILL' routine is linked in and then see if it is called from anywhere - yeah, right...

[Moneo]

Diroga,
I found my Norton Utilities manual. Norton's program is called WIPEFILE. It has a switch /G that causes the program to perform certain goverment rules when wiping/deleting files. I suggest using this. If you can't find it, let me know.
*****

[na_th_an]

http://www.jogi.com/schrege-voegel/software/_nu85.htm