What is Smog?
Smog is a data sanitization utility designed to saturate files, directories, and entire volumes, transforming them into an impenetrable and unrecoverable digital fog.
While conventional deletion only removes pointers, smog attacks the physical structure of the information. It injects “particles” of random noise through layers of deliberate overwriting, ensuring that visibility to forensic tools is reduced to zero. The result is not just an empty file, but a dense cloud of entropy where recovery is statistically impossible.
Built to be more ruthless than traditional utilities, smog treats data destruction like an industrial pollution event: a precise, low-visibility, and absolutely effective operation.
With Smog, you can:
- Smother Information: Overwrite sensitive data with algorithms that guarantee maximum entropy.
- Dissipate Evidence: Clean free space and entire devices, eliminating latent traces.
- Zero Visibility: Prevent reconstruction by digital forensics and forensic analysis methods.
- Controlled Pollution: Apply deterministic or random destruction patterns as needed.
- Leave nothing behind: Ensure what remains on disk is pure noise — not recoverable information
Smog doesn’t just erase the past. It vaporizes it into a toxic fog for any data recovery specialist.
Overview
Smog is a command‑line utility for controlled data overwriting across files, directories, free space, and entire storage devices.
While common deletion mechanisms remove only filesystem references, Smog operates at the data layer by performing repeated overwrite passes intended to eliminate recoverable remnants from the underlying storage medium. Its purpose is to reduce the feasibility of practical forensic recovery through deterministic, operator‑controlled overwrite procedures.
The tool is designed around explicit execution and observable behavior. Each operation targets specific paths or devices, applies a defined number of overwrite iterations, and provides progress feedback so the operator can verify that the destruction process has been completed as intended.
Smog supports:
- Secure overwriting of individual files and directory trees
- Free space wiping to remove traces of previously deleted data
- Full device wiping using the same overwrite methodology
- Configurable iteration counts to match different sensitivity requirements
- Terminal‑based progress output or optional GUI feedback
Smog is intended for environments where sensitive data must be removed with stronger guarantees than standard deletion provides, without relying on implicit behavior or opaque utilities.
The objective is not file removal, but data neutralization through entropy‑driven overwriting.