Final answer:
Clearing in the NIST Guidelines for Media Sanitation typically involves overwriting storage space with nonsensitive data to prevent the retrieval of previously stored information, although it is less thorough than purging or physical destruction.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the NIST Guidelines for Media Sanitation, an example of clearing is typically applied through configurations such as overwriting storage space with a series of ones or zeroes or other patterns designed to remove the data from the storage medium and make data recovery more difficult.
Clearing is not as thorough as purging or physical destruction, but it's sufficient to protect the confidentiality of data by making it nearly impossible to retrieve or reconstruct with conventional data recovery methods. Clearing techniques are intended to prevent data from being retrieved by standard interfaces and software tools.
More secure methods of media sanitization include purging, which may involve degaussing magnetic media or performing more advanced overwrite procedures, and physical destruction, which is the process of physically demolishing the storage medium.