Protect your data when you donate your old hard drive
In past posts, we looked at taking inventory of the files on your computer. It is important that you know what is there and take steps to protect it from loss. We discovered that backing up your data regularly is the only sure method of data protection. Even though our data recovery services employ current technology and techniques, some files may not be recoverable in certain cases.
Knowing what your hard drive contains is also important for another reason. Many folks will sell or donate their old computers when they buy a new one. Most of these users will delete their files and personal data from the hard drive before they let it go. Even so, you will recall that files that are merely deleted are still resident on the drive. This is why our recovery engineers are able to retrieve your lost data in the first place.
According to a recent study in the United Kingdom, 65 percent of the people surveyed sold or gave away their personal devices. This includes smartphones and PDAs as well as computers. The study also found that one in 10 of the hard drives sold or donated were not effectively wiped of all data. The original owners actually left personally identifiable information on the drives that could be easily recovered.
You already associate our business with flash media and SSD recovery as well as standard hard drive data recovery services. However, we also provide secure hard drive recycling. More information can be found on our website at http://www.harddriverecycle.com/. We will securely wipe your drive using Department of Defense standards so that your personal data can never be retrieved and used. There is no cost to you for this service, and your hard drive parts are recycled in the recovery business, once your data has been wiped from the drive.
The post What Data is Still On that Secondhand or Donated Hard Drive? appeared first on The Data Rescue Center.
