How do I wipe a hard drive for potential malware?

[AByteSlow]

Found a 1 TB hard drive while dropping some stuff off at the recycling center. That said, I obviously don't know if there's malware install, intentionally or not. Is there a reliable way that will allow me to wipe this disk while allowing me to reuse it for something else?

[Bombastinator]

I like Linux liveCDs on a thumb drive and the command line for that myself. Linux has some really primitive hard hitting tools for that.  To the point that one has to use a certain amount of caution to avoid bricking the drive.  Even it can’t take out some of the really high end stuff though if they manage to get code into the bit you don’t dare erase.  It’s hard to even put stuff there though and code that nasty is usually reserved for things like government operators.  It’s not a script kiddie thing.

Edited April 14, 2022 by Bombastinator

[LloydLynx]

You could boot into a Linux live USB environment with none of your important drives connected and then wipe the 1TB drive you found. If there is malware, it's highly unlikely to target Linux. And even if it does, you won't have your important drives connected to the system. 

[AByteSlow]

Just now, Bombastinator said:

I like Linux liveCDs and the command line for that myself. Linux has some really primitive hard hitting tools for that.  To the point that one has to use a certain amount of caution to avoid bricking the drive.

Thanks, what commands should I use to detect malware, or will it be enough just to run the wipe command?

[Bombastinator]

2 minutes ago, AByteSlow said:

Thanks, what commands should I use to detect malware, or will it be enough just to run the wipe command?

Sadly I’m not a BASH aficionado.  All I know is KORN and I forgot most of that.  Powershell runs on Linux though, and that is CMD with toys, so old hand windows users can get right into it.  Might have to find a distro that has it already set up.  The command for instructions on each command are accessed generally with the man or help commands.  Man man (the manual for the manual) or help help (see man man) is a good place to start