Even if you delete every file from your computer and empty its recycle bin, there's still plenty of private and confidential information that anyone with enough time and money can retrieve. And reformatting the drive doesn't protect your data from those unscrupulous crackers with the right software.
There are many documented incidents of old computers, containing confidential information, winding up on the shelves of resellers or online auction houses.
So, what's a person to do? Although you may be tempted to introduce a really large hammer to a hard drive to render the data it contains useless, physically destroying a drive is harder than you'd think. Less draconian measures are called for.
The Department of Defense uses a degausser to remove all magnetism from a drive, but at a cost of thousands of dollars, it's not a practical solution for individuals. According to PC World, the only sure way for the average computer owner to remove data from a drive is to overwrite it.
There are many products available, some of them free, for erasing your drive. Once cleaned, your old machine is ready to become a valuable donation.
if you're ready to replace, sell, or retire your old computer, it's very important to eradicate personal data stored on its hard drive before unplugging it for the last time.
You should always remember that even though you manually delete computer files, an identity thief might still be able to recover them, possibly putting you or your family at risk.
Files you should remove before you donate or sell your computer:
- E-mail contacts
- messages
- All documents
- All files in the operating system recycle bin or trash folder
- Internet files
- All non-transferable software (most software is transferable if you have the original disks and product key)
Options for removing files from your computer:
- Remove the files yourself at home using disk-cleaning software. On Windows 7 and Windows Vista you can clean up files with Disk Cleanup. If you have any sensitive files on your computer, you can also use a third-party application. To find software that works with your version of Windows, visit Bing and search for "file shredder" or "secure file deletion."
- Call the computer manufacturer's technical services department and ask how to delete personal files (your computer might need to be under warranty for this service).
- Take your hard drive to a local reputable computer supplier to have them safely overwrite your files.
Once you've cleaned the personal data from your old computer (and you don't plan to or are unable to sell it), what should you do with it? Consider donating or recycling
