How would one securely erase a SSD? Use the "clean all" command, use DBAN and do a quick erase or DOD wipe? Delete the partitions and do a regular format?
Do any of these methods hurt a SSD? I've read that too many read/writes can hurt a SSD after a while. Was that on older SSD's or do the newer ones suffer from that too?
My Computer
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
custom build
OS
Windows 7 Professional 64bit
CPU
Intel i7-5960X
Motherboard
EVGA X99 Classified
Memory
64GB Corsair Dominator 2400MHz
Graphics Card(s)
3 EVGA GTX980's
Sound Card
on board
Monitor(s) Displays
3 Dell E2715H 27"
Screen Resolution
1920x1080 (5760x1080)
Hard Drives
Samsung 950 Pro 1TB M.2 SSD,
Western Digital Black 2TB HDD's x5
Western Digital Black 1TB HDD's x3
Most SSDs (and HDDs) support a low-level 'secure erase' command. It's quite different to traditional 'zeroing' in that for SSDs it generally takes only seconds or minutes. In many cases it can be done through the manufacturer's utility. I generally use Linux command hdparm. The process is considered mildly risky, so be sure you fully understand what you're doing if you attempt it.
As for SSD lifespan, recent testing suggests that quality SSDs should outlive their usefulness.
Also, the myths of yore indicating that HDDs need to be overwritten multiple times with random or varying data to prevent data retrieval have largely been debunked. Unless your adversary has access to a clean room and a scanning electron microscope, a single zero pass is sufficient.
Edit: See here.