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Terms Used
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| To be able to keep track of the data on a partition, the file system divides each partition into small blocks called clusters. A cluster is the smallest area, which can be allocated from the disk and its size depends on the file system and on the size of the partition.
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| The unused area at the end of the last cluster allocated by a file is called the cluster tip (or the slack space). This unused area is present in most files because space can be allocated only as cluster sized blocks and the contents of the file rarely completely fill all allocated clusters.
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| The operating system uses the file system as a database to control the allocation status of a partition. The file system, such as FAT (File Allocation Table) and all its variants (FAT12, FAT16, FAT32) and NTFS (New Technology File System), keeps track of the data on a partition; filenames, dates, size and the physical location on the disk.
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| A hard disk can be divided into several logical drives called partitions. The size of the partition and the file system used determine the cluster size. Usually it is desirable to keep the cluster size small to reduce the amount of wasted (or slack) space on the partition.
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| The number of overwriting passes determines how many times an area on the disk is to be overwritten.
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| The length of a pseudorandom sequence; the amount of numbers that can be generated with a PRNG before the sequence starts from the beginning.
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| An algorithm that provides a sequence of numbers that appears to be random. All "random" data created by arithmetical means is called pseudorandom.
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| "Any one who considers arithmetical means of producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin" - John Von Neumann (1951)
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| The space on a partition not used for storing data. Consists of cluster tip areas of the files on the partition and the available free space.
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