One of my readers recently e-mailed me this question:<\/p>\n
Can you recommend a safe way of disposing of old computers? Not just for security reasons, but for the environment as well?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nRegarding security, the key issue with a computer is the hard drive. That’s the gold mine for the data thieves. In fact, a stolen laptop is more often purloined for its hard drive than for the quick re-sale. Data on the hard drive could yield bank account numbers, passwords, even a rich
\nsource of information for corporate espionage. So a key to being safe is to remove the hard drive.<\/p>\nI keep my “recent old” computers around in a rack in my garage. I call it the “bone yard.” Before being put up in the bone yard, however, I remove and save the computer’s hard drive. I currently have about a dozen of them, some of which are so old that no computer today could read them!<\/p>\n
The hard drives must be destroyed to ensure that no data can be read from them. Not thrown away. Not erased. Not burned. Destroyed<\/em>.<\/p>\n
Experts in data recovery explain that it’s next to impossible to fully remove information from a computer’s hard drive. You can use software like Norton’s Wipe Disk, or other programs that are government-certified to fully remove data. But the nature of electronic information storage is such that some remnants of information always remains.<\/p>\n
The only exception I’ve made for destroying a hard drive is when donating an old computer to a charity. As long as I know the charity and trust the folks involved, I don’t mind giving them a computer with a hard drive intact, but restored: I wipe the hard drive clean using Norton’s Wipe Disk, then I reformat it and re-install the operating system and all programs licensed to that computer, such as Microsoft Office.<\/p>\n
Under no circumstances would I donate a computer with a hard drive intact to an unknown charity or drop it off at the Good Will.<\/p>\n
Regarding recycling, the first thing to check is with the computer’ s manufacturer. Some computers can be returned to the original hardware company, where they will be recycled or disposed of in the best manner possible. HP<\/a> and Dell<\/a> offer a recycling service.<\/p>\n
Otherwise, check with the refuse company or your local government to see what the rules are regarding disposal. There is money to be made recovering things like gold, plastic, zinc, and old RAM chips from computers. Consider yourself fortunate if you live in an area that offers such a thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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