An employee is attempting to wipe out data stored on a couple of compact discs (CDs) and digital video discs (DVDs) by using a large magnet. You inform him that this method will not be effective in wi

The correct answer is B. Optical. Magnetic media (hard drives, floppy disks, magnetic tapes) store data by altering magnetic particles, so a strong magnet (degausser) can effectively erase them. CDs and DVDs, however, store data optically - using microscopic pits and lands burned or pressed into a reflective laye

Submitted by yuriko_h· Apr 18, 2026Disk Forensics

Question

An employee is attempting to wipe out data stored on a couple of compact discs (CDs) and digital video discs (DVDs) by using a large magnet. You inform him that this method will not be effective in wiping out the data because CDs and DVDs are _________ media used to store large amounts of data and are not affected by the magnet.

Options

AMagnetic
BOptical
CAnti-Magnetic
DLogical

How the community answered

(46 responses)

A
2% (1)
B
96% (44)
D
2% (1)

Explanation

Magnetic media (hard drives, floppy disks, magnetic tapes) store data by altering magnetic particles, so a strong magnet (degausser) can effectively erase them. CDs and DVDs, however, store data optically - using microscopic pits and lands burned or pressed into a reflective layer, read by a laser. They contain no magnetic material whatsoever. A magnet has absolutely no effect on optically encoded data. To destroy data on optical discs, physical destruction (shredding, grinding) or high-intensity UV exposure is required.

Topics

#Optical Media#Data Storage#Media Wiping#Physical Storage

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