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07 May 09 Properly Disposing Of Your Computer Components

In this current age of electronics, the new computer you buy is bound to be obsolete in pretty much no time at all, meaning if you want to keep up to date with the newest technology, you’d have to buy a new PC every few years.  The problem therein being the massive amount of electronics and technology that you will be scrapping.  In most cases computer and electronics parts contain heavy metals and other chemicals that are notoriously bad for the environment, which means throwing these away outright, is a very bad thing.  Which is why you should try and recycle your old computer parts as much as possible, and there are more than a few ways in which you can accomplish this.

In most cases, like if you own a Dell or Gateway computer, the manufacturer will accept your old PC to be recycled when you upgrade to a new one through the company.  Although before you recycle that old computer you’ll obviously want to make sure that you wipe your hard drive, so that you can ensure you don’t suffer any problems arising from the personal data you stored on your PC.

Another common way to responsibly depose of those old computers, is to donate them to a charity organization.  These can be easily found all over the United States, take Earth 911 or My Green Electronics for example.  They will make use of your old PC and give it a good home, which keeps that PC from sitting in a landfill leaking harmful chemicals into our environment.

Otherwise I would suggest storing your computer, after all it’s never bad to have a backup, in case that shiny new PC falters or get’s infested with a few Trojans.  You can also contact the Poison Control center in your area and ask what the regulations regarding computer disposal are where you live.  In most cases you will be able to give the PC to them for proper disposal, as Poison Control is designed to handle the disposal of any hazardous waste, even computers.

Tags: 911, Cases Computer, Charity Organization, Computer Components, Computer Disposal, , Dell Computer, Gateway Computer, Green, Green Electronics, , Harmful Chemicals, Hazardous Waste, Heavy Metals, , , Newest Technology, , Old Computers, Personal Data, Poison Control Center,

08 Jan 09 Cleaning your Hardisk before sacking your old computer/laptop

If you have plans to donate the computer you have used for years to charity or to some one you know, it is worth taking the time to clean the hard disk before passing on your inheritance. This saves you the trouble of having to worry about personal information falling into the wrong hands. Cleaning the hard disk does not involve deleting files by sending them to Recycle Bin, because even so the information is still there. Cleaning the hard disk involves reformatting it, that way you will be sure to clean all valuable information from it. This is usually done preparing it to accept another Operating System. Different operating systems require different procedures , but the aim is the same, to wipe the hard disk of valuable information that could fall into the wrong hands. Assuming you have already backed up all the information that you deemed necessary the next steps are as followed:

For Linux users the process starts with a download of a live CD from www.knoppix.net. Once the Cd had been copied the user boots from the CD. The next step is to use the shred command that was designed specifically for the purpose of deleting files securely. If your hard disk name is /dev/sda or /dev/hda then you type the following command:

#shred -n * -vz /dev/sda —— for sda users
or # shred -n5 -vz/dev/hda—-for hda users
-n*— indicates the number of times you wish the disk to be overwritten (an amount of 25 is sufficient)
-v —-Shows progress and;
-z —- Adds a final overwrite with zeros to hide shredding

There is another option that can be used depending on the amount of information to be destroyed and the urgency of destroying such information. This includes using Darik´s Boot and Nuke CD(DBAN), which is basically self-contained boot disk that automatically and completely cleans your hard disk.

For Windows Users one goes to the start menu, right click on the hard drive and click format.Darik´s Boot and Nuke CD(DBAN) can be used as well if the user wishes to do so. There are hundreds of soft wares on the market that claim to delete your hard drive permanently, based on my research DBAN seems to be the most recommended.

Once you have formatted your hard drive you can now choose the Operating system you wish to load on it. These steps were basically outlined with the intention to educate users about the importance of sanitizing their hard drives in the event they wish to discard or give away their computers/laptop.There are many businesses however that have not adopted any policy to dispose of used corporate records, the result sensitive information falling in the hands of hungry criminals waiting for the next attack. A plan should be laid out whether individual/cooperate, to ensure that the person entrusted to do such procedures is qualified and above all trustworthy.

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