Don't throw away your old
PCGuest review from Jean
in Montana:
You just got a new PC and want to get rid
of that old box. You can't decide whether to just donate it to the Library
or try and get a few bucks. Either way you need to do some clean up for
your own protection. One thing you should never do is just throw it away.
Most electronic devices contain mercury, cadmium, and other hazardous
materials. The other danger is, of course having personal information fall
into a strangers hands.
Just deleting isn't good enough. You will
need to choose between "wiping" the entire hard drive (the easiest) or
just the sensitive files. Wiping is the easiest but then someone will have
to reinstall Windows for it to be of any use. It all boils down to how
paranoid are you? There are several free programs that will do the job for
you. "For most people, that free software is good enough. But if you think
the FBI is after you, you'll want to spend some money for more security."
These words of wisdom and their author's suggestions can be found here.
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,117330,00.asp.
From JeanInMontana Happy Mother's Day to
all you Mothers. Stay safe, have fun. Peace out.
Website
- Tip
Quote from the website - You've got your new computer up and
running. You've waited a couple of months. You're sure there's nothing
else you want on your old PC. So what do you do with that big gray box in
the closet?