# Crime novel trope: special passphrase deletes all data

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-novel-trope-special-passphrase-deletes-all-data/924690>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 4, 2020, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-novel-trope-special-passphrase-deletes-all-data/924690 "2020-11-04T00:49:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 29

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-novel-trope-special-passphrase-deletes-all-data/924690/29 "2020-11-05T12:17:48Z")

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Here’s the last thread on point with some excellent refs to real experts debunking of this UL:

> [@How do they 'recover data'?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-recover-data/211420):
>
> I see and hear ads for companies that recover data from dead hard drives. How is this done? What do they have that the rest of us don’t? Are their secret/expensive programs not available to the general public? Or do they actually open the hard drive and do something to the innards with special equipment?

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