Computer Hardware – Before Donating Or Throwing Away Your Old Computer
Before throwing away an old laptop or computer you need to think very hard about how you are going to erase the hard drive. If you have no plan or do not know enough about how to do this, you are better off to take a screwdriver open the laptop up and yank the hard drive out and then throw away the laptop plastic carcass. If you plan on donating your laptop to a school, or donating your computer PC to a thrift store, you had better make sure that your hard drive is completely erased so that none of your personal information is on it.
There have been numerous cases, many very high profile cases where people have thrown away or donated old computers and laptops and the new recipient or finder of that computer hardware has collected it and gotten old information off of it. Sometimes this information is very personal in nature and just the type of information that an identity thief might like to have. This does not necessarily mean that any given person in our society who finds an old computer or buys one at a secondhand store is going to steal your information, but why tempt fate?
It’s much safer to play it smart and think about how you are going to get your hard drive erased and all the information off of it before you give it away. Additionally, if you’re going to sell your computer on eBay you had better make sure that you figure out how to remove all the files permanently and wipe the hard drive. Some computer experts recommend buying software that actually helps you delete all the information, especially if you are not a computer whiz yourself. Please consider all this.