Think about it - you wouldn't toss paperwork with credit card, bank, or social security numbers in the trash without shredding the heck out of 'em would you? Of course not! However, day in and day out, people toss out old computers and think that just deleting or formatting a drive is going to get rid of all the personal info they had on it - not a chance!
When you delete a file, it's not really gone. YES - You read that right! The area where the file sits on the hard drive gets tagged as free space, but until it's overwritten, that data is VERY recoverable. I formatted a test drive and ran recovery software on it awhile ago just to see what would happen. Nearly EVERYTHING was easily recoverable! No problem at all! Recent studies show that 74% of hard drives sold or given away contain data that can be easily read and recovered - and 36% of those hard drives had even been reformatted! Scary Stuff!
If you've ever used your computer to check on your banking, buy a product online, or anything that involves your personal info, then that info might be easily available when you get rid of your old hardware! Yikes!
Don't think it can happen to you? Well, two MIT students did a study. They went and purchased 158 used hard drives for less than $1000 from a web swap-meet type site. When they went through the drives, they found over 5,000 credit card numbers, medical reports, lots of personal and corporate financial information, and gigs of personal e-mail. And get this - 60% of the drives had been formatted!!!
There are people who look for old computers at the curb or in the dumpster just to pull info off the hard drive or sell the drives to others! Plus, if you just "donate" an old computer you have no idea what really is going to happen to it! If this doesn't scare the heck out of you, then you shouldn't be using a computer!
It is a very simple process to wipe your drive. Don't think this wont happen to you.
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