The price of computer illiteracy? Only $1,149! Oh, that and your reputation.
Scott Bloch is an idiot.
Mr. Bloch had his computer's hard disk completely cleansed using a "seven-level" wipe: a thorough scrubbing that conforms to Defense Department data-security standards. The process makes it nearly impossible for forensics experts to restore the data later. He also directed Geeks on Call to erase laptop computers that had been used by his two top political deputies, who had recently left the agency.
Geeks on Call visited Mr. Bloch's government office in a nondescript office building on M Street in Washington twice, on Dec. 18 and Dec. 21, 2006, according to a receipt reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The total charge was $1,149, paid with an agency credit card, the receipt shows. The receipt says a seven-level wipe was performed but doesn't mention any computer virus.
Jeff Phelps, who runs Washington's Geeks on Call franchise, declined to talk about specific clients, but said calls placed directly by government officials are unusual. He also said erasing a drive is an unusual virus treatment. "We don't do a seven-level wipe for a virus," he said.
$1,149 to wipe a hard drive? That's enough money to buy 15 hard drives. If I were in his shoes, I'd have simply destroyed the hard drive with a big fat hammer and bought a clean replacement. Even if other services were involved, how wise is it to outsource the destruction of evidence... and then allow the service to be documented on a receipt that's paid for with a credit card?
Scott will likely be even happier to learn that programs to do what he paid $1,149 to do are available for free on the Internet, and require very little computer savvy. Had Scott had the requisite amount of computer savvy, he could have wiped his own drive and then had the Geeks on Call reinstall all of his software.
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