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Wipe your PC for safety's sake Question : I'm
about to give my six-year-old Windows XP computer to a friend. Short of
reformatting the hard drive, is there any way to expunge my identity - my
name, for instance, automatically supplied to certain forms - from the nooks
and crannies of the machine ? Is there software to restore a system to
"pre-ownership" state ?
Answer : Some people go as far as removing the old hard drive and
installing a new one to make absolutely sure that none of their personal
information resurfaces on the computer, but there are other ways to prepare
the machine for departure.
Most computers come with either a copy of the Windows software or a
manufacturer's "recovery" disc that contains its version Windows and all of
the programs that originally came with the PC when you took it out of the
box. You can typically use these discs to reformat and reinstall a fresh,
unsullied copy of Windows on the PC.
But reformatting the drive usually does not erase the data on it. Bits of
personal information can still reside on the drive.
Using a utility program to thoroughly wipe the drive is a good idea of
you want to make sure your personal data stays personal, no matter who ends
up with the computer.
Eraser ( www.heidi.ie/eraser
) and Darik's Nuke and Boot (
http://dban.sourceforge.net ) are free utility programs that erase your
information. Commercial programs like WipeDrive (
www.whitecanyon.com ) will also do
the job.
When you give the machine away, passing along the recovery discs, manuals
and original CDs for any other programs on the computer will help your
friend. |
