Clearing the clipboard Windows PCs

In the last SIG meeting (4/6/2017) it was mentioned that clearing the Windows clipboard after using that clipboard for sensitive information is best practice.

In versions before Windows 10 the system kept several copies of the clipboard. With physical access to the memory of the PC, a forensic examiner or malware program can find these copies and access the information. In addition to the information the clipboard stores the type of information the clipboard contains is maintained. The clipboard can contain text, links, videos, etc.

For Windows 10 the security of the clipboard gained focus of the developers at Microsoft. If using Windows 10 it is better practice to copy new text to the clipboard than erasing via the delete or backspace keys.

The command line cmd /c "echo off | clip" will also clear the clipboard.

Additional methods, log off, restart the PC and Print Screen of a benign page. Clipboards are per user so one user can not access another user's clipboard contents.

For earlier versions of windows the clipboard was not as protected. The above mentioned techniques will clear the current clipboard but something or someone with access to physical memory and knowledge can gain access to the contents.

Since having a clipboard history is of value, there are applications that allow access to any or all previous clipboard contents. If you use those applications, you will need to use the application to clear their clipboards and/or history.