An application specific device for erasing data from a long-term storage device includes a power supply, a control circuit, and an interface to the storage device. The control circuit controls the long-term storage device to irretrievably remove data from the storage device. The storage device may be, for example, a hard disk drive or compact flash memory. The application specific device is physically small, is operating system independent, and has simple interface that is useable by non-computer professionals.