Data Still Left on Storage Devices for Sale

cluedweasel writes "According to a BBC story many people are still putting up their old PC's and storage devices for sale without taking basic precautions to ensure that confidential data is erased. The suggestion at the end of the story is to get a professional forensics firm to wipe your data or just destroy the item in question. With the low price of storage devices, the latter is probably preferable."

Comments

Not only good drive but also bad drives

[slashnutt]

I always hate having to send in my hard drive for warranty repair. Years ago, I watched a friend recover information from a newly arrived warranty repaired drive. If the drive is dead and has to be sent into for warranty service, make sure one of those super powerful magnets from another drives is put around all over the hard drive case. Don't, know if that will wipe anything but I don't expect the manufacturer to ensure my data is secure.

That said I used eraser every night.

With Threads Like These...

[Shadow Wrought]

Invariably in discussions regarding data found on used hard drives there are a litany of stories about what people have found on drives they have bought. In almost every single instance of this there's a disclaimer at the end lines of, "but I deleted it of course." I wonder how many of them actually did. And, of those, if they deleted only the data, or the data and the programs?

I should also point out that I don't doubt any individual's account- I just don't know that I trust the whole population. Just a thought...