Oh, happy day! You finally have a new PC or laptop. But what do you do with your old one? Put it on the curb? Store it in a basement, closet, attic, or dining room corner until you have time to deal with it? Sell it? Smash it, bash it, trash it?
Before you do anything, your data needs to be completely erased or it’s at risk.
Hacker Fodder
Many hackers actively seek out junked PC’s in trash dumps, resale shops, and for sale on the internet. They’re hoping to recover information they can sell on the dark web. Your computer has a wealth of your personal information on it, from financial information like your account numbers or tax returns, to personal information, such as social security numbers, emails, photos, or passwords to various accounts.
You may think deleting files and programs is all that needs to be done. But just because they’re deleted doesn’t mean they’re gone. Deleted files can easily be recovered by hackers using off-the-shelf data recovery tools. That’s why it’s imperative to make sure your computer is wiped completely before getting rid of it.
Smash It
You may be tempted to physically destroy old computers, but most people don’t know the correct
components to destroy. “If someone just destroys the external electronics (circuit board) and the internal platters are OK, then it is not hard to restore the drive,” says Philip Lieberman, CEO, Lieberman Software.
Taking a sledge hammer or drill to your PC is a bad idea, not just because of the danger of flying shards of glass and metal, but because of the long list of hazardous materials you could be exposing yourself to. The main hazardous substances that could be found in electronic products are: lead, mercury, cadmium, zinc, yttrium, chromium, beryllium, nickel, brominated flame retardants, antimony trioxide, halo- genated flame retardants, tin, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and phthalates.
Total Wipe
If you shouldn’t physically destroy old laptops and PCs, and you can’t just delete the data and information, what should you do? The answer is have your hard-drive wiped. Wiping is different than deleting. Wiping erases all files in such a way that it’s impossible to recover them
Hiring a reputable IT specialist is the safest, most reliable way to wipe your computer before you dispose of it. At Oakland Solutions, we use software that meets Department of Defense standards to completely
wipe all data from any PC or laptop.
Contact Oakland Solutions at 248-689-1439 or info@OaklandSolutionsLLC.com before
Monday, July 5, 2021 and get 20% off a hard drive wipe. Serving Southeast Michigan.