You wouldn’t want to mistake this for a CD burner. It sure looks like one, but it destroys rather than recreates data.

This is the Plexeraser, and you’ll want to use it only when you want to erase data. It takes just six minutes to erase all the data on a CD or DVD. (You can also choose to erase only the lead-in info.)

That’s a little longer than it takes to burn data onto a disc, but the result is the same, except in reverse. Of course, unless you have a rewritable disc, this is a one-way process.

Speaking of rewritables, a firmware update will allow you to erase data on those discs as well. The product as it stands now erases data on only CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, and DVD+Rs.