Why You Need To Securely Erase Your Hard Drive

[itadmin]

Data wiping is the name given to the action of deleting a file or a portion of data on a storage device in a way that eliminates any possibility of recovery. This is accomplished by overwriting the file or part of the disk that you want to erase with invalid values, typically zero, a number of times before deleting it. In case a person wants to recover that data later, it will be extremely hard and (depending on the accuracy of the data wiping tool used) sometimes impossible.

Sadly, this data termination technique is not used by everyone, and as a result, some cyber criminals manage to get their hand on confidential data they can use to impersonate others and take advantage of their money, often by making purchases and getting loans on their names. This is known as identity theft, and it has become the most growing criminal activity since year 2005.Identity thieves have a lot of ways to get your data, from stealing your wallet to looking through your mail, and this digital era has certainly multiplied their range of options.

A common way for criminals to get access to your data is when you upgrade your hard drive, and sell the old one on eBay or by other means. When a mal-intentioned individual buys your old hard disk, he has access to any data that may be there, whether it has been deleted or not. Contrary to what most people think, even formatting your hard disk doesn’t ensure unrecoverability of your data. The only way you can avoid this potentially harmful scenario is to erase your hard drive with a good data termination tool.

Another possible way for bad people to get your data is when you take your PC to the repair shop. Basically, this scenario is the same as the one mentioned above, with the difference that you don’t need to format your drive before putting it in the hands of the technician. What is really bad about this information stealing method is that you actually trust your technician, and therefore you are less concerned about your data security.

A criminal-minded technician could theoretically recover your data and then sell it to someone else. Again, the only way to avoid this is to make sure you erase your hard drive’s confidential data using a good data termination tool.

But perhaps the most dangerous situation is when your laptop gets stolen. In addition of getting your computer, a smart criminal may get your data, unless you have used a data termination tool to erase your sensitive files.

Data stealing and identity theft happens more often than most people believe, and it’s up to you to guarantee your data security. If you don’t , then maybe next time it will happen to you.

[nikdevid]

Hello dude ,
It's a really useful information that you shared here with the all forum members ..
I have read all the ways of wiping your hard drive totally .. It's a quite impressive post by you ..
Thank you very much ....