Re: SDD partitioning and allocations
Hi,
On Wed, Jul 16, 2025 at 04:31:08PM -0000, Greg wrote:
> On 2025-07-12, Andy Smith <andy@strugglers.net> wrote:
> > But for brand new devices I don't care what was on it before.
> >
> > You can construct a hypothetical situation where:
> >
> > 1. I buy a new storage device but am unwittingly given a refurb one
> > (that has had its diagnostic attributes erased to maintain the
> > illusion that it is new).
> > 2. For some reason law enforcement seize my computer, scan the storage
> > and find something illegal that was on it already in unused space.
>
> https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/12/5928?utm_source=chatgpt.com
This one concerns USB storage bought on the TradeMe web site, which
appears to be a marketplace a bit like eBay. I didn't thoroughly read it
but I didn't spot anywhere that clarified whether they sought out drives
described as brand new or not. The fact that they bought 17 and found
data on 15 suggests to me that they just bought second hand storage, so
not at all surprising.
> https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/181241a/amazon_sold_me_a_drive_it_came_with_data_on_it/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
>
> https://indiandefencereview.com/a-man-bought-a-new-hard-drive-but-upon-plugging-it-in-he-discovered-800gb-of-files-worth-thousands/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
If either of the above stories are true (note they do both come from
reddit) they read like advice to check that storage devices that you buy
as new actually *are* new.
If any of that happened to me then I would be getting a refund for it
not being as described, not carrying on using it. None of it persuades
me to secure erase new storage devices, "just in case." But if it makes
someone happy, I suppose there are worse ways for them to spend their
time.
Thanks,
Andy
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