Quick answer
How do I wipe my VPS before cancelling it?
To wipe your VPS before cancelling it, copy out what you need, revoke your keys and tokens, shred the secret files, fill the free space with zeros, then ask for a reinstall in the dashboard, which erases the disk. At Gloamport a Dusk disk is 40 GB NVMe, so the zero fill is short.
What does each wipe tool actually do?
| Tool | What it does | Does it destroy the data? |
|---|---|---|
| wipefs -a | Erases filesystem, RAID and partition-table signatures | No: the man page says it does not erase the filesystem or other data |
| shred -n 1 -z -v FILE | Overwrites a file or device, then a final pass of zeros | Only if the file system and hardware overwrite in place; many platforms do not |
| blkdiscard | Discards a region of a block device | Data in the region is lost; a plain discard is not documented as guaranteeing erasure |
| blkdiscard -z | Zero-fills the region instead of discarding it | Yes, as far as the device honors the writes |
| dd if=/dev/zero of=FILE | Fills free space of a mounted file system with zeros | Overwrites the free blocks of your virtual disk |
| cryptsetup erase DEVICE | Erases all keyslots of a LUKS container | Makes the container permanently inaccessible; the data is not overwritten |
Prices checked on
Behavior as stated in the man pages of util-linux, coreutils and cryptsetup; see the sources below.
What can you wipe on a virtual server, and what can you not?
You can wipe the contents of your virtual disk, and you cannot reach the storage under it. Full KVM virtualization: your own kernel, your own firewall rules and your own disk encryption if you set it up. The disk you see is a virtual one, and where its blocks land on the hardware is decided by the host, not by you.
That is the limit of every overwrite tool. The shred man page says it assumes the file system and hardware overwrite data in place, and that many platforms operate otherwise. On a VPS you cannot check. So treat the steps below as removing your data from the disk you can see, and treat the strongest protection as the one you set up at the start: if you encrypted the disk, destroying the key is what makes old blocks unreadable. See Can I encrypt a VPS disk with LUKS?.
How to wipe a Linux VPS before cancelling
Run these as root on the VPS, in this order. They are written for Debian 13 and Ubuntu 24.04.
Copy out what you want to keep
Pull your data to your own machine with rsync or scp, and check that it opens. Gloamport includes no backups, so this copy is the only one: No plan includes backups: keep your own copy of anything you cannot lose.
Revoke the secrets that live on the server
Remove your keys from ~/.ssh/authorized_keys, delete API tokens and certificates the VPS used, and rotate any password that was ever typed on it. Do this from the service side too, not only on the disk. If you reuse the key on other servers, replace it, as in How do I generate an SSH key for my VPS?
Stop the services and delete their data
Stop containers and daemons, then remove their data folders: vaults, databases, mail, web roots. A deleted file still leaves its blocks on the disk until they are overwritten.
Shred the small secret files
Run shred on host keys, key files and config files that hold secrets. Use -n 1 -z -v for one random pass plus a final pass of zeros. Remember the caveat above.
Zero the free space
Write a file of zeros until the disk is full, flush it, and delete it, as in the code block. The time depends on the disk size: 20 GB NVMe on Ember, 40 GB NVMe on Dusk, 80 GB NVMe on Gloam.
Ask for a reinstall in the dashboard
Request a reinstall of a fresh image: Reboots and reinstalls are requested from the dashboard and carried out by the team; a reinstall erases the disk. Do this last, once your copy is safe. The images offered are Debian 13, Debian 12, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, AlmaLinux 10, Rocky Linux 10.
Stop the renewal
Turn off auto-renew in the dashboard, or leave the balance below the renewal price. Each VPS is paid from a prepaid crypto balance for the term you choose at checkout: 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. With auto-renew on, the same term is charged again at the price of your order unless you pick another one for the next renewal in the dashboard. If the balance cannot cover a renewal, the VPS stops when its term ends, its disk is kept for 7 days and then wiped.
# Secret files: one random pass, a final pass of zeros, verbose
sudo shred -n 1 -z -v /etc/ssh/ssh_host_*_key /root/.ssh/authorized_keys
# Free space: fill with zeros until the disk is full, flush, delete
sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/zero.fill bs=1M status=progress conv=fsync
sudo sync
sudo rm /zero.fillShould you use wipefs or blkdiscard on a VPS?
Usually not, because both act on whole devices and your VPS runs from its only disk. wipefs removes signatures only: the man page says it does not erase the filesystem or any other data, so it is not a data wipe. blkdiscard destroys the data of the region it is given and has a zero-fill mode, -z, and a secure mode, -s, that needs support from the device; the man page does not say that a plain discard guarantees erasure.
They have a place if you attach or create a second block device or a separate swap partition, which you can clear after unmounting it. Do not point either tool at the disk you booted from while the system runs.
What happens to the disk after you stop paying?
The disk is kept for a while and then wiped. Each VPS is paid from a prepaid crypto balance for the term you choose at checkout: 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. With auto-renew on, the same term is charged again at the price of your order unless you pick another one for the next renewal in the dashboard. If the balance cannot cover a renewal, the VPS stops when its term ends, its disk is kept for 7 days and then wiped. Your balance does not expire: Credit on your balance does not expire and renews any of your VPS. When a top-up is only made to reach the minimum, the unspent part comes back on request within 30 days of payment, in USDT or USDC. The rest of a balance is not paid out unless the law requires it.
According to Gloamport’s survey of 10 November 2026, 42 of the 49 entries were active when checked. Providers come and go, so do your own wipe rather than rely on a provider’s clean-up. The refund rules are on the refunds page; the rules for a short outage are in the same place. If you intend to come back, keep a plan with a term that suits you: $5.25 a month for Dusk on the 12-month term, or $10.50 for a single month. What happens to the disk when a term ends without renewal is set out on How does a Gloamport VPS order work, and what rules apply?.
In summary
- You can wipe your virtual disk; you cannot reach the host storage under it.
- Copy out your data first: no plan includes backups.
- Revoke keys and tokens at the service, not only on the disk.
- shred -n 1 -z -v for secret files; dd from /dev/zero for the free space.
- wipefs removes signatures only and does not erase data.
- A reinstall from the dashboard erases the disk; an expired VPS is kept 7 days, then wiped.
- Disk encryption from the start is the strongest protection.
Wiping a VPS: common questions
Is shred enough on a VPS?
It is a good step for secret files, but the shred manual assumes in-place overwrites, which many platforms do not do. Combine it with a free-space fill and a reinstall, and encrypt the disk next time.
How long does the zero fill take?
It depends on the write speed of the virtual disk and its size. Dusk has 40 GB NVMe; dd with status=progress shows the pace so you can estimate the rest.
Does a reinstall wipe everything?
Gloamport states that a reinstall erases the disk. It does not say how, so keep your own wipe steps if the contents are sensitive.
Do I need to delete the VPS myself?
No. When the balance cannot cover a renewal the VPS stops at the end of its term, and the disk is wiped after 7 days. Turn auto-renew off if you want it to stop sooner than a top-up would.
Should I wipe before reinstalling?
It is optional. A reinstall already erases the disk, so the free-space fill matters most if you stop paying without reinstalling.
Sources (5)
- shred(1) manual page — Linux man-pages project (checked 2026-11-10)
- blkdiscard(8) manual page — util-linux (checked 2026-11-10)
- wipefs(8) manual page — util-linux (checked 2026-11-10)
- dd(1) manual page — Linux man-pages project (checked 2026-11-10)
- cryptsetup(8) manual page: erase — cryptsetup project (checked 2026-11-10)