One of the nasty secrets of the computer world is that even when you delete a file, it isn’t really gone. Instead, the computer marks the space as available will overwrite it at some time in the future. But all of the data is still there, ready for anyone to look at it, provided they know how.

When it comes time to dispose of an old computer, this can be a major problem – especially if the computer held sensitive data like patient records, personnel reports or financial information. Short of smashing the hard drive with a hammer, the best way to destroy the information is by overwriting the entire hard drive several times with unreadable gibberish; a process known as scrubbing.

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Tags: Privacy,Security
Categories: Computer
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