Written by: Jay H.
Are you getting rid of your old computer or laptop? Before you do, there’s something you must do first – erase your storage drive.
The Importance Of Data Wiping
Your computer has a lot of business and personal information on it. Your hard drive stores everything from customer information to your business’s financial records. Needless to say, you don’t want this information to end up in the wrong hands.
Also, since you deal with sensitive business information, your business is subject to data protection laws and regulatory compliances. Therefore, if you don’t correctly destroy confidential data, your organization may endure fines and a damaged reputation.
However, simply deleting your old files is not enough. Anyone with recovery software can retrieve the “deleted” data from your hard drive.
What Is Data Wiping?
Simply put, data wiping makes your data unreadable. It works by overwriting the data on your hard drive with random 0s and 1s to the extent of making it undecipherable.
By overwriting your data, you can safely reuse the hard drive. Even if someone tries to recover the old information off your hard drive, they will be unable to read the data.
Methods To Erase Your Storage Drive
There are several methods you can use to erase your storage drive. However, before you erase your data, you will want to make copies of the information you want to keep. You will be unable to recover any data you delete.
1. Use A Program To Erase Your Drive
Many free programs can securely erase your hard drive.
One of the most popular options is DBAN. This program erases all data on your hard drive, including personal files, programs, and operating systems.
However, this program does not support SSDs or provide a certificate of erasure for compliance purposes.
2. Physically Destroy Your Drive
If you need to ensure your data is erased and don’t want to reuse the storage drive, you can physically destroy the hard drive. However, we don’t recommend this method since there is a risk of injury and improperly destroying the hard drive.
Properly Erase Your Old Data
Data wiping is a crucial component of data security. By properly erasing your storage drive, you will prevent personal and business information from data thieves and bad actors.
If you need assistance properly erasing your old data, contact us today and see how we can help.
Comments are closed.
