Hard drive data

Some shops use a drill press and drill a couple of holes in the hard drive. If they have any concerns, you can always give them the hard drive back. Then there are no worries! I my shop, if I plan to keep the drive, I use Acronis Disc Cleaner to securely wipe the disk in a bench PC. It's easier for me as I have a computer repair shop. If you disassemble the drive, just deface the disk surface. If you cut the disks up, the only ones that might recover any bits of data would be the NSA, CIA, FBI, or maybe folks with the Black Helicopters. BTW: I just sold 11 pounds of hard drive circuit boards for $100.00 + shipping on eBay. The magnets (if you save up enough, should be of interest to folks building wind turbines (eBay)

Glad this topic came up. I know there is a thread on degaussers and I just read it. I deal with bank computers,police and sheriff computers, and hospital computers. They claim to have wiped the drives themselves. I am paranoid and currently tear down the hard drives all the way, then destroy the platters completely. They are starting to want me to either shred completely on site or use a degausser that meets DOD standards. I will obviously charge for this service. Any of you guys do this? A degausser that meets the DOD standard starts around $6,000. Not sure what to do here.

Used shredder, maybe?