Certus Erasure vs Lethe

Certus Erasure provides software to wipe data from computers, servers, storage devices, and mobile devices, then verify and document the results. Its tools cover HDDs, SSDs, NVMe drives, USB storage, iOS and Android phones and tablets, and macOS devices such as MacBooks and iMacs. Certus supports 45 recognized erasure methods and standards, including NIST 800-88 and IEEE 2883-2022. VerifyDrive checks erased drives, and erasure reports record results described as auditable and tamper-proof. DispositionCenter is a cloud platform for managing licenses, settings, workflows, users, permissions, and reports; it also supports a REST API, custom ERP and enterprise connections, and single sign-on through supported identity providers. Diagnostics assesses, grades, and reports on devices for reuse, resale, or recycling. CheckDeviceLock identifies whether a computer remains registered with Windows Autopilot. Deployment options include PXE and cloud. The free trial covers erasure or verification of one chosen device and provides access to several tools. Pricing is available on request, and no free plan is listed.

Lethe is a free, open-source command-line utility for wiping drives on Linux, macOS and Windows. It overwrites existing data with randomly generated data or a static pattern, then can read data back to check whether write commands succeeded. The project says it should work with HDDs, flash drives and SSDs, but warns that its current approach cannot reliably erase all SSD data because of wear leveling and compression.

Lethe requires root or administrator access to operate on real drives. It uses a fast cryptographic random generator and lets users override the operating system's recommended block size. It can track and automatically skip bad blocks and other localized errors, though that feature is experimental. Available binaries cover Windows x86-64, Intel macOS, experimental Apple macOS and Linux x86-64; installation from Rust sources is also documented. The project says initial active development is complete, though occasional changes may still be made. Lethe is licensed under Apache License 2.0.