PSA: Wipe Your Computers

This is just a friendly reminder that before throwing out a computer you should wipe the hard drive, lest people find things like this. Yes, I added the black blocks.

I acquired a computer today, and when checking it over found this. There were also some credit card transaction screens (I think maybe the owner had been saving these or something) and family photos, but not much else obvious. I think the owner had attempted to clean it with some antispyware tools and by uninstalling things, but there still were plenty of traces left. I didn’t dig too deep before beginning to wipe it.

So, what should you do when disposing of a computer and/or hard drive? Use a (relatively) simple utility like Darik’s Boot and Nuke to give the hard drive a few wipes before putting it to the curb or giving it away. Or just do what I did last time I had to dispose of some tapes and hard drives.

Anyone want a few year old Duron system? It seems to work…