February 18th - 2007

WIRED OFFICE: Dispose of your old PC safely and securely

Whether your computer is an old clunker or you just want the latest technology, the time will eventually come when you will need to replace your hardware.

Whether your computer is an old clunker or you just want the latest technology, the time will eventually come when you will need to replace your hardware. But before you throw out, give away or sell your existing computer, be sure to take steps to protect your identity.
 
Your computer’s hard drive contains important personal and business data including banking and credit card information among other things. Before parting with your PC, you need to completely delete the contents of your hard disk or risk having your information fall into the wrong hands.
 
But, according to Microsoft, clearing your history, deleting files and cookies, and emptying your computer's recycle bin is not enough. Performing these tasks is similar to removing the table of contents in a book. The chapters are still there, they're just harder to find. Even when you remove a particular file from the disk's index the file itself still exists on your hard disk. For the average person it's harder to recover, but an experienced programmer or hacker could easily locate the file. Previous or temporary versions of the file might also be saved under different names.
 
So you need to go one step further and overwrite your data. Before you do, however, you should back up everything you want to keep and then run hard-drive wiping software, which will overwrite your information with random ones and zeros. It’s recommended that you use a program that overwrites your data more than once. The more it's overwritten, the harder it is to recover.
 
There are several disk-erasing tools that are available for you to download online including: Active @ Kill Disk (http://www.killdisk.com), Eraser (http://www.heidi.ie/eraser), Softpedia/DP Wiper (http://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Security-Related/DP-WIPER.shtml), or for MAC users, SuperScrubber (http://www.jiiva.com/products).
 
Unless you take the hard drive out and keep it, be sure you delete the following using disk-eraser software:

  • Everything in the My Documents folder.
  • All temporary Internet files.
  • All cookies.
  • All files relating to personal and financial matters that may have been stored in folders other than My Documents.
  • All e-mail: Outlook Express users need to search for and delete *.dbx files and Outlook users need to search for and delete *.pst files. This will send them to the recycle bin for secure deletion. Also, remember to remove all e-mail account settings and passwords, etc.

Reinstall your operating system
For Windows XP and 2000 users, the easiest way to wipe your hard drive is to reinstall your operating system. The installation CD will prompt you to reinstall with an option to clear your hard drive. Of course, before you reinstall don’t forget to back up everything first. For Windows 98 and 95 users, the safest option would be to consult a computer technician at your nearest computer store to guide you through the process.
 
After all this, if you are still concerned about security, you can either remove the hard drive and keep it in a safe place or you could consider destroying it. You can destroy a hard disk by removing the “platters” inside and smashing them. To do this, place the platters in a bag to prevent splinters flying around and make sure you're wearing eye protection. Place the bag onto a slightly flexible surface like a carpet and take out your frustrations on them with a hammer. You’ll want to reduce the platters to reasonably small pieces – anything bigger than a quarter of the platter is probably too big. Finally, check with your local authorities about the correct means of disposing of the drive and the smashed platters. The rest of the PC can now be safely donated or recycled.

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Jean-Adrien Delicano

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