What are two methods that could be used to wipe data from a drive?

Degaussing equipment and data wiping software are effective methods for wiping data from a drive.

Degaussing works by disrupting the magnetic field on a hard drive, which can render data unrecoverable. It involves exposing the drive to a powerful magnetic force that alters the magnetic properties of the disk, effectively erasing all stored information. This method is particularly effective for traditional hard disk drives that leverage magnetic storage but is not applicable to solid-state drives (SSDs).

Data wiping software, on the other hand, is designed to overwrite existing data with randomized patterns or zeros, ensuring that the data cannot be easily recovered. This software often complies with various data sanitization standards, making it a reliable option for securely erasing information from both HDDs and SSDs.

The other options, such as file compression software and system restore tools, do not serve the purpose of securely wiping data. File compression only reduces file size without erasing underlying data, while system restore tools are meant to revert a system to a previous state rather than delete data permanently.