Mystery Shopper's Manual

  • Blog
  • About
    • Privacy/Disclosures
  • The Mystery Shopper’s Manual
  • Mystery Shopping Companies
You are here: Home / Mystery Shopper Tools / Erase Your Hard Drive When Disposing of a Computer

Erase Your Hard Drive When Disposing of a Computer

December 28, 2008 by Cathy Stucker Leave a Comment

hard_diskPerhaps if you were a very good mystery shopper this year, Santa brought you a new computer. But wait! Before you dispose of that old computer, make sure you protect your private data.

Computers sold on eBay or donated to charity often include confidential information, such as credit card numbers, passwords, financial data and more. Simply erasing the files, or even formatting the hard drive, may not be enough to remove all traces of data. There are programs that can be used to recover files that have been erased.

Here is how you can avoid having your data fall into the wrong hands.

Tech expert Leo Notenboom recommends doing multiple “unconditional” formats. Although it is still possible to recover data after this, it is difficult. Someone would really have to want your data to devote the resources necessary to get at it.

There are also free software programs available that will wipe your hard drive clean. Running such a program will make it difficult to impossible to recover data from your disk.

Of course, another option is to physically destroy the hard disk. If you are planning to sell or donate the computer, this is not a good choice. However, if you are going to recycle it, destroying the disk protects the data.

Once you have removed your files, what will you do with the computer? You can sell it on eBay or with an ad on CraigsList or other classified sites. Many charities will accept donations of computers, for the use of the charity, for resale, or for recycling. Additionally, many communities have recycling programs for electronics. In general, electronic equipment should not just be put out in the trash, as they may contain hazardous materials that should not be disposed of in a landfill.

Enjoy your new computer, without having to worry that your old one may be telling your secrets.

Filed Under: Mystery Shopper Tools, Technology and Secret Shopping Tagged With: Computers, EBay, Hard disk drive, Recycling

« “Mystery Shopper Scam” Catches the Bad Guys
Mystery Shopping and Money Resolutions »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Mystery Shopping Companies

Updated 4/20/18! Access my free curated list of more than 150 legitimate mystery shopping companies.

Scam Warning

If you received a check or money order with instructions to cash it and wire money to someone, DON'T DO IT! This is a scam.
Click here to learn more about
mystery shopper scams.

Get ‘The Mystery Shopper’s Manual’

NEW 7TH EDITION!

Get your personally autographed copy of The Mystery Shopper's Manual here.
mystery-shoppers-manual-3d

Connect with Cathy

Follow Me on FacebookFollow Me on Google+Follow Me on TwitterFollow Me on LinkedInFollow Me on YouTubeFollow Me on PinterestFollow Me on RSS

Recent Articles

  • Do Millionaires Mystery Shop?
  • Mystery Shopper Resolutions
  • Mystery Shopping for Mystery Shopper Pros
  • Keep the “Secret” in “Secret Shopper”
  • The McDonald’s Receipt Hack

Categories

Applying to Mystery Shopping Companies Customer Service Dealing with Mystery Shopping Companies Dealing with Shopping Emergencies Employees and Mystery Shopping Grammar and Spelling Green Mystery Shopping Hazards of Mystery Shopping Holiday Mystery Shopping How to Become a Mystery Shopper Identity Theft Independent Contractor Issues Industry News Make Money Online Memory Improvement Money and Mystery Shopping Mystery Shopper Certification Mystery Shopper Ethics Mystery Shopper Fun Mystery Shopper Jobs Mystery Shopper Scam Mystery Shopper Scheduling Companies Mystery Shopper Secrecy Mystery Shopper Taxes Mystery Shopper Tools Mystery Shopping Clients Mystery Shopping Company Mystery Shopping Pay Mystery Shopping Providers Association Mystery Shopping Recordkeeping Mystery Shopping Resources Online Security Opportunities for Mystery Shoppers Preparing for the Mystery Shop Profitable Mystery Shopping Secret Shopper How-To Secret Shopper Quick Tips Secret Shopping and the Law Secret Shopping Confidentiality Sticky Secret Shopper Situations Technology and Secret Shopping Types of Mystery Shops Video Mystery Shopping Working Online Writing Mystery Shopper Reports

Copyright © 2004 - 2022 · Cathy Stucker

Copyright © 2022 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in