If you ever donate or even junk an old computer, take a few moments to do it correctly. Yes, there's a right way and a wrong way to do it, and in this era of identity-theft, you need to do it the right way.
Properly De-Commission Computers
Whether you’re going to give the old desktop or laptop to a family member, donate it to Goodwill, send it to a recycling center, or set it on the curbside for garbage pick-up, be smart and wipe that hard drive clean.
Surely you all know that just because you delete a file, doesn’t mean the file has disappeared. Anyone with a few skills can recover deleted files. So obtain software that wipes the hard drive clean. There are many software packages available that do this.
WipeDrive by White Canyon is one, and it’s inexpensive. The Department of Defense used this product so that should tell you something. There are other softwares on the market. You may even find some freeware or shareware that accomplishes this task.
Shop online or your local stores for a software that meets your budget and needs. Then use it to ensure your private information remains private.
Takeaway Truth
The few minutes you take to secure your private data is a time investment well spent.
ZDNet did an article on this only last week. The link is: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/one-in-10-secondhand-hard-drives-contain-recoverable-personal-information/20048
ReplyDeleteAnd here's an older, but excellent, post from Lifehacker that also explains how data is written to disks, as well as listing platform-specific tools you can use: http://lifehacker.com/5153684/properly-erase-your-physical-media
Thanks for those links. I too started running a post here on the blog a few years ago about this.
ReplyDeleteI like to repeat the information every year or so--usually when I'm getting rid of a PC or other storage media.
Best wishes,
Joan Reeves
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