Off-Google topic but might be of interest to some of you.

This will for sure win the title of the week for a gov document. It comes from the National Inst. of Standards and Technology and offers advice about clearing a system. Released in the past few weeks.

Title: How-To Guide for Removing Data from Storage Media: Guidelines for Media Sanitization

From an overview:
Before ditching or donating that used computer, CD or other data-storage media, sensitive or personal information should be properly “sanitized,” according to a new guide from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Information systems store information using a wide variety of media, including “hard” copy, such as paper printouts and facsimile ribbons, and electronic media, including cell phones, CDs or DVDs, and hard drives. Even if stored data supposedly has been deleted, in many cases residual data can be retrieved and reconstructed. The NIST guide, Guidelines for Media Sanitization (NIST Special Publication 800-88), provides information on techniques to remove data from a wide variety of media types and a decision matrix to determine which technique is best. The guide recommends that organizations first determine the confidentiality of the information and then decide how to dispose of the media

Direct to Full Text of Document:
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-88/SP800-88_Aug2006.pdf
PDF; 42 pages.