CricketMX.com

Tom Kenny

Computers are a mainstay of our way of life. What's alarming is, when most people get rid of their computer, they put themselves at risk of identity theft and other abuses. That's why we're taking action to tell you what you need to do before you replace your computer.

Look at this statistic. According to the federal EPA, 500-million personal computers have been thrown away in just the last seven years.

What's troubling is, an overwhelming number of those disgarded computers still had the hard drives in them full of personal and sensitive information. That creates a crime of opportunity for computer-savvy thieves. They can steal your money and identity.

We decided to show how vulnerable you can be when you throw out your old computer.

We went dumpster diving in Lexington and it didn't take long to find a personal computer that had been thrown out with the trash.

We took the computer to computer forensic examiner Eric Lakes of Cyber Agents, Incorporated of Lexington.

He was able to find e-mail messages, a name, age and birth date of an individual. He found personal letters that had been written, including an individual's name and address. He was able to find what the users looked at on the Internet, which included everything from instant messaging to pornography.

Think about all the people who do their taxes, banking, bill paying and shopping online. That sensitive information could still be on the hard drive if you don't take the necessary steps to erase or protect your information before you get rid of your computer.

So what should you do to protect yourself? Computer forensic examiner Eric Lakes offers these safety/security tips:

* Remove the hard drive. Store it in a safe place or destroy it.
* Have a reputable computer supplier safely overwrite your files.
* Use disk cleaning software.

Lakes does caution that on the disk cleaning software option, you must make sure you operate the program perfectly, or it may not do everything it is supposed to do to wipe the hard drive clean. Lakes said it's often more efficient, safe and cost effective to take it to a reputable professional to overwrite your files than it is to run a disk cleaning software program yourself.

Lakes also said that just because you hit the "delete" button on an e-mail or program or delete the history of the Web sites you've visited, doesn't mean they're gone. An identity thief might be able to recover that information, possibly putting you and your family at risk.

And this doesn't just apply to computers that people throw in the trash. You need to take the same precautions if you give the computer away, sell it or donate it to a charity.

Even though some charities and the city of Lexington wipe the hard drive's clean before the computers are recycled, don't leave it up to them. Do it yourself. We're talking about your identity and privacy, so don't take any chances.

Here are the files you should remove before you get rid of your computer:

* E-mail contacts
* E-mail messages
* All documents
* All files in the operating system recycle bin or trash folder
* Internet files
* All non-transferable software (most software is transferable if you have the original disks and product key)

Here are some Shared Windows disk-cleaning utilities (free of charge):

* Active Kill Disk: Hard Drive Eraser
* Disk Cleaner
* Sure Delete
* Others available on http://www.shareware.com/

If you have children who use the computer, you have to protect their identity as well. For example, don't use their real name in an e-mail address. Closely monitor what they do and look at online. Remember, children are often the target of online predators, so safeguarding what's on the hard drive is especially important.

If you'd like more information on computer forensic examiner Eric Lakes at Cyber Agents, Incorporated, visit http://www.cyberagentsinc.com.

For more information on how to protect your identity and what to do if you believe your identity has been stolen, visit the Federal Trade Commission Web site at http://www.ftc.gov/idtheft/..

The other way to be sure no one is able to get your data, doesn't require any software, not even a computer. Take the hard drive out and follow these steps:

Find a large magnet, such as a speaker, and swipe it accross both sides of the drive.

Here's the kicker, throw it, smash it, release some inner rage, sledge hammer, beat the living ***** out of the thing, once the platter is scratched or bent even by a fraction of an inch, the drive will never be read again. Another way, throw it in a fire, though I've never done this, so unexpected results may occur, that is explosions, shouldn't be a major issue, most of the componets aren't large enough to cause an explosion, but burning the drive in a large fire is enough to warp the platter and basically scramble anything thats on it, and from the expansion from the head, cooling off will change the physical location of each piece of data, remember hard drive are extremely persice devices, they must be acurate, or they wont work.

That's my method, I'm a push-over I need to do something with my anger

True total destruction of the hard drive will work best, If you don't want to resale or trade your old PC for an upgrade.

Layzie Bone wrote:The other way to be sure no one is able to get your data, doesn't require any software, not even a computer. Take the hard drive out and follow these steps:

Find a large magnet, such as a speaker, and swipe it accross both sides of the drive.

Here's the kicker, throw it, smash it, release some inner rage, sledge hammer, beat the living ***** out of the thing, once the platter is scratched or bent even by a fraction of an inch, the drive will never be read again. Another way, throw it in a fire, though I've never done this, so unexpected results may occur, that is explosions, shouldn't be a major issue, most of the componets aren't large enough to cause an explosion, but burning the drive in a large fire is enough to warp the platter and basically scramble anything thats on it, and from the expansion from the head, cooling off will change the physical location of each piece of data, remember hard drive are extremely persice devices, they must be acurate, or they wont work.

That's my method, I'm a push-over I need to do something with my anger

Just wondering, is there any nuclear material inside a hard-drive (just like there is in a smoke detector)?

Layzie Bone wrote:The other way to be sure no one is able to get your data, doesn't require any software, not even a computer. Take the hard drive out and follow these steps:

Find a large magnet, such as a speaker, and swipe it accross both sides of the drive.

Here's the kicker, throw it, smash it, release some inner rage, sledge hammer, beat the living ***** out of the thing, once the platter is scratched or bent even by a fraction of an inch, the drive will never be read again. Another way, throw it in a fire, though I've never done this, so unexpected results may occur, that is explosions, shouldn't be a major issue, most of the componets aren't large enough to cause an explosion, but burning the drive in a large fire is enough to warp the platter and basically scramble anything thats on it, and from the expansion from the head, cooling off will change the physical location of each piece of data, remember hard drive are extremely persice devices, they must be acurate, or they wont work.

That's my method, I'm a push-over I need to do something with my anger

I like the way you think Layzie!!
I've been using the "smash principal" for quite a while now, so I have it perfected
Anything that I want to deal with goes into a plastic bag and... whack with a hammer onto a hard surface-outdoors!!
Trust me, brick paving does not represent an ideal surface but a block of wood... is perfect!!
It makes me feel really, really good. This is probably because I am far too orderly, and not the least bit destructive.
Well, that is until I get that hammer into my hands...

moongirl wrote:

Layzie Bone wrote:The other way to be sure no one is able to get your data, doesn't require any software, not even a computer. Take the hard drive out and follow these steps:

Find a large magnet, such as a speaker, and swipe it accross both sides of the drive.

Here's the kicker, throw it, smash it, release some inner rage, sledge hammer, beat the living ***** out of the thing, once the platter is scratched or bent even by a fraction of an inch, the drive will never be read again. Another way, throw it in a fire, though I've never done this, so unexpected results may occur, that is explosions, shouldn't be a major issue, most of the componets aren't large enough to cause an explosion, but burning the drive in a large fire is enough to warp the platter and basically scramble anything thats on it, and from the expansion from the head, cooling off will change the physical location of each piece of data, remember hard drive are extremely persice devices, they must be acurate, or they wont work.

That's my method, I'm a push-over I need to do something with my anger

I like the way you think Layzie!!
I've been using the "smash principal" for quite a while now, so I have it perfected
Anything that I want to deal with goes into a plastic bag and... whack with a hammer onto a hard surface-outdoors!!
Trust me, brick paving does not represent an ideal surface but a block of wood... is perfect!!
It makes me feel really, really good. This is probably because I am far too orderly, and not the least bit destructive.
Well, that is until I get that hammer into my hands...

Keep in mind even software erasing isn't always good enough, it really depends on how bad someone would want your *****. If my name was Bill Gates I'd melt the ***** down to a ball of ***** and launch it into outer space

moongirl wrote:

Layzie Bone wrote:The other way to be sure no one is able to get your data, doesn't require any software, not even a computer. Take the hard drive out and follow these steps:

Find a large magnet, such as a speaker, and swipe it accross both sides of the drive.

Here's the kicker, throw it, smash it, release some inner rage, sledge hammer, beat the living ***** out of the thing, once the platter is scratched or bent even by a fraction of an inch, the drive will never be read again. Another way, throw it in a fire, though I've never done this, so unexpected results may occur, that is explosions, shouldn't be a major issue, most of the componets aren't large enough to cause an explosion, but burning the drive in a large fire is enough to warp the platter and basically scramble anything thats on it, and from the expansion from the head, cooling off will change the physical location of each piece of data, remember hard drive are extremely persice devices, they must be acurate, or they wont work.

That's my method, I'm a push-over I need to do something with my anger

I like the way you think Layzie!!
I've been using the "smash principal" for quite a while now, so I have it perfected
Anything that I want to deal with goes into a plastic bag and... whack with a hammer onto a hard surface-outdoors!!
Trust me, brick paving does not represent an ideal surface but a block of wood... is perfect!!
It makes me feel really, really good. This is probably because I am far too orderly, and not the least bit destructive.
Well, that is until I get that hammer into my hands...

I still believe my "Lizzie Borden Method' to be the best ever HDD cleaner
Here are some other less energetic methods...

Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN)
http://www.dban.org/

Windows
Eraser
http://eraser.heidi.ie/

Mac
Finder's Secure Empty Trash
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html ... mh475.html
Edenwaith
http://www.edenwaith.com/

McAfee Blog Central

Worldwide Chief Technology Officer Michael Fey is the Worldwide Chief Technology Officer for McAfee where he drives the company’s long-term strategic vision and core innovation efforts. In his role as CTO, Fey is also responsible for overseeing McAfee’s go-to-market initiatives, collaboration, and execution across McAfee’s sales, product management, development, and research teams. Prior to his current role, Fey was Senior Vice President of Advanced Technologies and Field Engineering at McAfee, where he was responsible for overseeing vital corporate acquisitions as well as engagement with global customer executives and prospects to define, design, and implement strategic security solutions. Prior to his tenure at McAfee, he held multiple technical management positions at Opsware and Mercury Interactive. Fey is co-author of the book entitled “Security Battleground: An Executive Field Manual” published in 2012 to provide guidance to executives who shoulder oversight responsibility for information security around critical business resources.
http://blogs.mcafee.com/author/mike-fey