| It can be an advocacy but usually, companies | | | | fraudulently? If not, then, it is high time |
| that dispose old computers when they buy new | | | | you wipe hard drive of your computer. |
| units often donate the equipments to | | | | |
| institutions and to some people who need | | | | Disk wiping is the process of erasing saved |
| personal computers. This is a widely | | | | data on storage devices like compact discs, |
| acceptable practice. But are you ready to | | | | thumb drives and hard drives. When you wipe |
| give much more than the worth of the personal | | | | hard drive, you are ensuring that all |
| computer you are donating? You might not be | | | | previously deleted files on the personal |
| fully aware of it but when you are giving | | | | computer would never ever be recovered or |
| your old personal computer to other people, | | | | accessed even with the use of the most |
| you are also giving the recipient the | | | | powerful data recovery software. Wiping hard |
| opportunity to access your old files and | | | | drive is actually working by overwriting the |
| information saved previously on the hard | | | | entire hard drive not just once but several |
| disk. | | | | times. Thus, you can rest assured that no |
| | | | data or file would ever remain in the |
| Even if you have deleted the files in the | | | | computer memory for life. To put it simply, |
| Windows operating system and in the Recycle | | | | it is impossible to retrieve data that have |
| Bin, there would always be traces of the | | | | already been overwritten. The process is |
| deleted file somewhere within the hard drive | | | | irreversible. |
| of the computer. The simple process of | | | | |
| deletion would only remove the shortcuts to | | | | How does the process work? When you wipe hard |
| the files. In actuality, the files are still | | | | drive, the process generally overwrites the |
| there, though you could hardly trace them. | | | | whole disk with zero or one. A reformat would |
| But imagine if in the long process of | | | | follow. The overwriting process takes on and |
| donating, the personal computer goes to the | | | | repeats itself several times, solidifying the |
| possession of an expert who could be able to | | | | security purpose. That is the reason why such |
| restore and retrieve the deleted files. There | | | | computer programs usually take some time to |
| are many recovery and restoration software | | | | complete. When you wipe hard drive, you are |
| available in the market that could facilitate | | | | practically disk wiping applications by |
| instant retrieval of deleted files. | | | | overwriting master boot record, the partition |
| | | | table and each sector present in the computer |
| Will you be willing to afford to lose | | | | hard drive. |
| sensitive information like trade secrets, | | | | |
| personal information, confidential data, bank | | | | When you wipe a hard drive, you are ensuring |
| and credit account numbers and contact | | | | the safety and confidentiality of all files |
| details of clients? Much more, will you be | | | | that had been saved and later on erased from |
| willing to take the risk of sharing such | | | | the computer memory. Such pertinent data and |
| important and confidential information to | | | | information would never ever be accessed by |
| some unscrupulous people who might use the | | | | anyone, especially the unauthorized ones. |
| data inappropriately, maliciously and | | | | |