Whether you're selling your computer on eBay, Craigslist or even just a garage sale, you need to erase your personal information from that computer. Even throwing your old computer in your local land fill can be risky if the necessary precautions are not taken. If you just delete the file you have not completely removed it, people can still recover these files through special software, wiping the hard drive is the best way to protect against identity theft and stolen personal information. This article outlines a few ways to erase your personal information safely and easily.
The first option in removing your personal information is probably the easiest and the most entertaining. Removing the hard drive from your computer and literally smashing it with something or on something until you know it is unusable is recommended if you don't care to sell the hard drive with the computer. Understand that not including the hard drive with the computer will usually decrease the price of the overall package you are selling as the hard drive is one of the main components of a computer.
The second option for removing personal information is by downloading a program. There are a few programs available but the most common is probably DBAN which is free. This program is used to completely wipe the drive of all its contents including the operating system. If you use this program be sure you have the operating system available so it can be re-uploaded to the computer or notify the buyer that the computer has no operating system. This completely erases all data so if you plan on keeping anything you will need to have that backed up on an external drive or other storage device.
The third option that will be covered is having a professional wipe the hard drive for you. This is the best option for those who would rather not mess with the components of a computer and would prefer to pay to have the drive wiped. This option is usually more expensive than the other options, usually your local computer repair technicians will charge around $50. Research is worth your time if you plan on having a professional wipe the hard drive. Before you sell a computer be sure to have all personal information removed.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.greatfreearticles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites