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Out with the Old (Computer):
by Jim Beaucaire

How to Do It Safely

Did you get a new computer for the holidays? Wondering what to do with your old one?

Since computers often hold personal and financial information, the most important thing you can do is ensure that its hard drive doesn't become a treasure chest for identity thieves. For starters, you should understand how your hard drive works. When you save a file, especially a large one, it is scattered around the hard drive in bits and pieces. When you open a file, the hard drive gathers the bits and pieces and reconstructs them. And when you delete a file, the links to reconstruct the file disappear.

But the bits and pieces of the deleted file stay on your computer until they're overwritten, and they can be retrieved with a data recovery program. To remove data from a hard drive permanently, the hard drive on your old computer needs to be wiped clean.

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Don't lose it!

Backing up your data should be a "no brainer" for everyone. Whether it is a customer database, personal photos, tax returns, resumes, emails or grandma's favorite pumpkin pie recipe….all it takes is losing that precious information once and you will swear to never let it happen again.

Better than a shoebox!

Depending upon the amount of data you have on your computer (or your phone), something as simple as a flash drive for the low end user to sophisticated offsite backups for the small, medium or large business owner depending on your hard drive size and your level of paranoia.

A flash drive offers simple local backup capability, but will not protect you if you have a fire or some other catastrophic event. It is fast and can get your data back for you quickly. Depending on how much data you have will determine what size flash drive you will need.

Offsite backup like Carbonite, Mozy, or some other offsite backup will protect you when you have a complete loss of all your data, as you can get it back from them over time. The only downside to this is the speed with which they will be able to recover your data.

Whatever solution you choose, "just do it!" before it is too late. Remember it is not "if" your hard drive will fail it is "When" & it will fail at the worst time.