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The Hard Drive Crusher is a device designed to do exactly as the name implies: crush hard drives. It does this in order to obliterate personal data that might otherwise be stolen from the unit. While there are ways to accomplish this without the use of blunt trauma, you have to admit, the visuals are awesome. The picture comes courtesy of Gear Log and is a photograph of a destroyed HDD that was sent to them.

I have my own, infinitely more dangerous version of a Hard Drive Crusher. I prise the cover off the hard drive up to about a 45-degree angle. I then place a large screwdriver on the platter and shatter it with a hammer. If someone can get my data out of the shards that eventuate, they deserve to have my personal details.

At $12,000 this is not a device aimed at the general public, rather it is likely to be used by computer security companies, or as a marketing gimmick by large computer stores. [eDR Solutions via Gear Log]

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