# Safest way to clean a computer running Fedora?

**URL:** https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/safest-way-to-clean-a-computer-running-fedora/41076
**Category:** Questions
**Created:** 2026-09-29T16:36:41Z
**Posts:** 5

## Post 1 by @Flol — 2026-09-29T16:36:41Z

I’ve recovered a computer (Fedora) that my father, an elderly person with limited computer skills, used for years primarily to watch sports on pirated websites.

My concern is that due to continuous access to these sites and his lack of technical knowledge, the computer may have become infected in ways that could affect me in the future, since I will be using it for work. Obviously, much of the company data is sensitive information, so I’d like to know what you think is the best way to ensure the computer is completely secure (reinstall OS, format, etc.).

Thanks in advance.

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## Post 2 by @dataSamurai — 2026-09-30T09:41:48Z

The only way is to wipe the OS completely. While I doubt there would be a scary virus on that PC, it’s good to start fresh if you father won’t be using it anymore. Especially if you’re going to use it for work.

So first, backup anything you want from that PC. Copy it to an external storage.

Next, get a second USB drive. Use [Rufus](https://rufus.ie/) to create a bootable drive you can install the OS from. Plug in the USB drive to your PC, go to BIOS/UEFI and select your pendrive as a boot device.

From there, just wipe the drive, overwrite it with a new installation and you’re good to go.

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## Post 3 by @iluvprivacy — 2026-09-30T10:18:25Z

How do you “wipe” the drive?

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## Post 4 by @sizing387 — 2026-09-30T12:47:48Z

This.

The only thing I would add is that AFAIK rufus is windows only. If you are already on Linux you might want to take a look at alternatives such as the [Fedora Media Writer](https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.fedoraproject.MediaWriter).

If you really suspect that your os has been infected it would be wise to create the media on another, uninfected device. In any way, but especially when you do it on the potentially infected os, make sure to verify the hash of the downloaded iso file.

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## Post 5 by @sizing387 — 2026-09-30T12:54:09Z

In most cases the installer gives you the option to install the os on a new partition and use it alongside your current one (i.e. dual boot) or to format/overwrite the existing ones.

So you can just select the latter and the formatting will be done automatically for you.

Note, however, that this is not necessarily a “secure” formatting as in “no data can ever be restored”. So if you would want to e.g. sell the drive or are at high-risk, this might not be sufficient enough. However, formatting an hhd or ssd securely is a whole rabbit hole itself. Currently I am not even sure if it is possible at all without destroying the actual drive. See [How do you safely erase SSDs before selling?](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/how-do-you-safely-erase-ssds-before-selling/34650)