If you’ve got an old hard drive (or a few old hard drives) laying around, you’re definitely not alone.
After all, that old drive probably contains data that could be used in identity theft or worse. That means donating or recycling old computer equipment is out of the question, unless you completely wipe the drive first. Of course, if the drive is more than a couple years old, good luck finding all the right cables and other equipment you need to protect your data.
But what does wiping the drive even mean? To ensure a hard drive is clean, you need to obliterate your data using a data-wiping program. Then, you’ll need to make sure the drive’s platters are unspinnable. This is a complicated process that involves dissembling the drive, removing the platters (using a special type of screwdriver), putting them between neodymium magnets, then grinding or sanding the platters until they’re unreadable.
Whew! Fortunately, there’s an easier way to protect your information…. work with a hard drive destruction service.
Keeping Your Information Safe
When it comes to hard drive destruction, the process just seems too complicated, especially if you want to do it yourself. But keeping your information safe is crucial.
Cyber criminals can find data on old hard drives that you’d rather remain private. From credit card numbers to logins and passwords, computers often save private information. For an identity thief, getting access to an old hard drive can be like finding a treasure trove.
If you’re a business owner and the hard drive was used to store customer information, it’s even more important to make sure that data is protected. The only way to ensure your information is safe is through hard drive destruction.
Proper Disposal
Proper hard drive disposal isn’t a DIY-type of project. Completing destroying a hard drive requires specialized tools and techniques that most people don’t have access to. Using a hard drive destruction service simply makes sense.
Why? Because unless hard drives are completely destroyed, rather than simply wiped, a determined criminal can still access your private information.
The destruction process involves removing components and magnetizing them through a process known as “degaussing” that deletes stored data. Alternately, hard drives may be physically destroyed using special disintegration, shredding or puncturing techniques.
Contact Royal Document Destruction
Unless they’re properly disposed of, old hard drives can open the door to hackers and cyber criminals, allowing access to your personal information.
Why take the risk? Keep your identity and information safe and ensue your hard drive is completely destroyed.
Royal Document Destruction has more than 25 years of industry experience. If you need hard drive destruction services in the Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio area, contact Royal Document Destruction today.
