Recently a client asked me if it was safe to donate an old computer they no longer used to a charity.
While it is a good thing to keep an old computer out of the waste stream by extending its useful life through donation. One must always be prudent to be certain your personal data or the personal data of your customers is properly eliminated before doing so.
A hard drive is organized much like a book. Think of it this way, your information is stored on the various pages in the book. Just like a book, your hard drive also contains an index to help you quickly find the page of information you are looking for. When you delete information from your hard drive, the computer simply goes to the index and marks the page or pages as available to be reused, it doesn't go to the actual information and destroy it. If it did, you would never be able to move anything back out of the recycle bin. If you donate your computer or sell it, an unscrupulous individual could run a program to recover the lost files and information contained on your hard drive.
Many utilities exist that will overwrite the information on a hard drive effectively erasing it for good. One such utility is...
Active@KillDisk is disk eraser software for secure formatting of hard drives without any possibility of following data recovery. DOS application can be run from floppy boot disk. KillDisk overwrites data according to the DoD 5220.22-M disk sanitizing standard. Erasing PC Hard Drives.
another open source utility is DBAN which is...
Darik's Boot and Nuke ("DBAN") is a self-contained boot floppy that securely wipes the hard disks of most computers. DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk that it can detect, which makes it an appropriate utility for bulk or emergency data destruction.
If you are disposing of an old computer I strongly recommend drilling a hole in the hard disk before tossing it. While the majority of data would still be intact, it would take the effort of a computer forensics lab to recover it. Most simply would not bother.
Unfortunately, you are not only at risk when disposing of an out dated computer. If you ever need to have work performed on your system, your data is at risk. This article "I just bought your hard drive" from The Red Tape Chronicals is a perfect example of what can happen to your data.
I had a laptop computer I needed to send in for repair of a broken connector for the power cord where it plugs into the motherboard. Since I had sensitive information such as banking and credit card information I wanted to be certain the guy repairing my computer didn't have a look through my data. I followed the steps below before sending my laptop back and I would suggest the following practice for anyone prior to returning a computer for warranty work to be certain your data remains safe yet you can get back to the point you were prior to sending the unit in for repair.
1.) Use a disk imaging program such as Acronis True Image to back up your hard drive to another computer (obviously your other computer will need to have enough available disk space). If you need help with this step, email me and I will see what I can do to put instructions together for you.
2.) Use one of the two programs above to overwrite all the information on the hard drive that will be sent in for warranty work.
3.) This step is optional, I simply place a note along with my computer stating in order to protect my sensitive data, I have formatted the hard drive. If you have the factory restore disk, you could follow the instructions to set your computer back to the way you obtained it from the factory.
4.) Once the repair is complete, you install the disk in your computer as in step 1, but this time you restore the image you created. That's it... You are back to where you were before the warranty work, and you have the peace of mind knowing you will not be a victim of identity theft.
We at Electronic Solutions Professionals value your continued business. Rest assured, your sensitive data is just that sensitive and secure when it is with us. It will never be sold exchanged or divulged to anyone other than you! If you are within a reasonable distance from Auburn, PA, we would be happy to assist you with this task prior to returning your equipment for warranty work. Please call (570) 754-0053 or email for pricing and availability. It may seem like allot of extra work for nothing, but what would it cost you if your social security number, credit card, or other financial information was stolen while your computer was being repaired.