Request for zeroization on power cycle and IOCTL
2 posts
Hi,
I have purchased your RAM Disk and use it to store some files I would like to leave no trace of on the hard drive. Could you implement a function to zeroize the RAM disk on the event of a power cycle? And also, if possible, could you provide an IOCTL to perform an emergency RAM disk zeroization?
Thanks for your great program.
Best,
Thomas
Good news: both of your wishes are already implemented in our RAM Disk.
As of version 26.1, memory is always securely zeroed before being released back to the system. This means that when you unmount a RAM disk or shut down your computer, the memory contents are wiped clean before being made available to other processes. You can see this in the RAM Disk changelog.
Regarding power cycles specifically, RAM disks are volatile by nature. Unlike data on an SSD or hard drive, DRAM contents naturally decay within seconds of losing power. While you may have heard of so-called "cold boot attacks", these require near-immediate physical access to the machine and specialised equipment — not a realistic concern under normal circumstances.
As for a dedicated IOCTL for emergency zeroing, it shouldn't be necessary given the above. Simply unmounting the drive or powering off your PC will effectively leave no recoverable trace. That said, if you have a specific scenario in mind where you'd need instant on-demand wiping while the system is still running, we'd be happy to hear more about your use case.