Let\'s say you’ve determined that your old computer system is not worth upgradin
ID: 3828631 • Letter: L
Question
Let's say you’ve determined that your old computer system is not worth upgrading. What should you do with your old computer? Research and answer the questions below.
RECYCLE: Research and report the proper disposal methods for computers. Name two places in your vicinity where you could recycle a computer. Is there a cost?
DONATE: You may want to donate a computer to a non-profit organization or a school, or give to a friend or family member. Consider the importance of first removing data that might still be on your old computer. How can you make sure your personal information is removed? Research this issue and write a report explaining why files aren't really gone.
Summarize your research.
What was most interesting and useful?
Recommend several products that will permanently removed stored data.
Report any other tips or suggestions you learn from your research.
Use a minimum of three sources -- several are provided below; you may find others good resources as well.
http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/safely-dispose-computers-and-devices.aspx
www.friedbeef.com/8-ways-to-permanently-delete-data-without-leaving-any-trace
http://netsecurity.about.com/od/quicktips/qt/erase_drive.htm
http://www.geeksquad.com/do-it-yourself/2mm/hard-drive-wipe.aspx
http://safecomputing.umich.edu/tools/clean_drive.html
http://eraser.heidi.ie/
http://www.ehow.com/how_2138332_delete-all-data-computer.html
Explanation / Answer
Recycle
We all go through several computers and other electronic devices over a lifetime and getting rid of them is not as easy as throwing them in the trash. These old machines should be disposed in a secure and environmental friendly manner.
With the new Operating system and higher configurations at an affordable prices one would like to upgrade to newer machines as per our requirements. These days, it often seems like technology becomes obsolete within days. This year’s powerhouse video card may be sufficient now, but they might not be able run next year’s killer apps with much in the way of gusto. So if you want to stay current, you’re going to end up having to upgrade your hardware or even your entire rig on a regular basis. But what to do with all your outdated components? You likely don’t have a lot of storage space, and it’s only a matter of time before all those old graphics cards and desktop towers start bursting out of your closets.
But you cannot just throw it away. Some of these parts are hazardous to the environment, and need to be disposed of properly. Environmentalists often point to e-junk as one of the next big concerns for our planet.
While you may want to keep your computer armed with only the most powerful hardware, there’s no reason you can’t make use of parts you replace. Obsolete is not the same as broken, and with a little ingenuity you can get a lot of mileage out of spare parts. If you find yourself with a lot of parts on hand, you can cobble together a basic computer to use as a home file server. A functional home server doesn’t require high-end parts, and it will provide you with abundant file space to store any data you have. It is possible to find some uses for nearly any individual piece of hardware, too. You can convert an old internal hard drive into an external hard drive, for instance, with an external enclosure.
FreeGeek Chicago (3411 W Diversey BasementChicago, IL 60647b/t Milwaukee Ave & St Louis Ave Logan Square) is non-profit community organization that recycles used computers and parts to provide functional computers, education, internet access and job skills training to those who want them. FreeGeek Chicago was founded in August 2005 as a collaboration of NPOTechs and Logan Square CTC to recycle computer technology and provide low- and no-cost computing to economically disadvantaged individuals and not-for-profit and social change organizations.
Donate
Just because a computer is too obsolete for your needs doesn’t mean it cannot help someone else. There are several donation programs that will take your legacy computer, get it in working order, and give them to others who need a starter machine to get into the information age. We can donate our old machines to schools, not-for-profit organizations or give it to a friend who is looking for a beginner computer.
How do we ensure our sensitive or confidential data is permanently erased before we donate these machines or Hard drives?
There are several free tools available online using we can erase the data on Hard Drive.
Darik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN) is the most popular free utility that will overwrite each sector on your hard drive making data unrecoverable. It is very secure and will deter people that use hard disk forensic analysis from retrieving your data. The quick method will overwrite all sectors with 0’s in one pass and might be the easiest method for home users.
Using a degausser to wipe a hard drive clean is aimed at businesses and corporations that need to wipe out several at a time. A degausser magnetically erases all of the information on the disk platters. Buying a degausser is not very practical for home users as they cost around $2,000 and higher. You can pay for services from companies like Garner and SEM that will degauss and destroy your hard drive completely.
DeleteOnClick, Heidi Eraser are few other tools which wipes data securely.
Another cheap and effective method is taking an axe or hammer to the hard drive and smashing it into bits.
Why Files are really not gone?
Windows (and other operating systems) keep track of where files are on a hard drive through “pointers.” Each file and folder on your hard disk has a pointer that tells Windows where the file’s data begins and ends.
When you delete a file, Windows removes the pointer and marks the sectors containing the file’s data as available. From the file system’s point of view, the file is no longer present on your hard drive and the sectors containing its data are considered free space.
However, until Windows actually writes new data over the sectors containing the contents of the file, the file is still recoverable. A file recovery program can scan a hard drive for these deleted files and restore them. If the file has been partially overwritten, the file recovery program can only recover part of the data.
If you’re wondering why your computer doesn’t just erase files when you delete them, it’s actually pretty simple. Deleting a file’s pointer and marking its space as available is an extremely fast operation. In contrast, actually erasing a file by overwriting its data takes significantly longer. For example, if you’re deleting a 10 GB file, that would be near-instantaneous. To actually erase the file’s contents, it may take several minutes – just as long as if you were writing 10 gigabytes of data to your hard drive.
To increase performance and save time, Windows and other operating systems don’t erase a file’s contents when it’s deleted. If you want to erase a file’s contents when it’s deleted, you can use a “file-shredding” tools.
Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.