Kirk W Posted March 20, 2022 Report Share Posted March 20, 2022 As I have an older computer that has a hard drive which is nearing the time for discarding, I was wondering what people are doing in such situations to be sure that there is nothing that can be retrieved by some nefarious person after you get rid of it? On media such as a thumb drive I have always just crushed them but nowadays with the popularity of cloud storage, that also brings up a security issue. Because there are several organizations that supply cloud storage, if you use it and then choose to change to a different supplier, how do you make sure that you leave nothing behind in the previous cloud? Quote Good travelin !...............KirkFull-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat & Pete Posted March 20, 2022 Report Share Posted March 20, 2022 20 minutes ago, Kirk W said: As I have an older computer that has a hard drive which is nearing the time for discarding, I was wondering what people are doing in such situations to be sure that there is nothing that can be retrieved by some nefarious person after you get rid of it? On media such as a thumb drive I have always just crushed them but nowadays with the popularity of cloud storage, that also brings up a security issue. Because there are several organizations that supply cloud storage, if you use it and then choose to change to a different supplier, how do you make sure that you leave nothing behind in the previous cloud? You might consider that any cloud would have back up storage . I've always figured that once you put anything 'out' there' it'll be there forever . Quote Goes around , comes around . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV_ Posted March 20, 2022 Report Share Posted March 20, 2022 That is not a problem nor costly. You really do not need to crush anything. Just do a complete reset of your computer. Make sure you select to change settings before you click on start, and change it to delete and clean all drives which will do a complete wipe of all drives. But those can still be recovered. So before the reset, make a throwaway email account somewhere to only access as webmail not on your computer or as an account in your email program. Then reset Windows to wipe all drives and once it is ready to start again go through the setup Windows process with that throwaway email address. Once windows is up and running with that new Windows account and password log in and then download CCleaner free here: ccleaner.com/ccleaner/download/portable. All of these steps are in this video with screen shots so you can pause it as you do each step: Quote RV/Derekhttp://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.Retired AF 1971-1998 When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV_ Posted March 20, 2022 Report Share Posted March 20, 2022 If you don't know how to reset your computer and clean/wipe all drives here is a video that takes you step by step: Quote RV/Derekhttp://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.Retired AF 1971-1998 When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletstopper Posted March 21, 2022 Report Share Posted March 21, 2022 I’m a believer in drive removal and manual destruction. A drill and sledge and throw away the remains of the drive. if selling or giving away the machine, a new drive for $60 and and OEM Windows key for $20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durangodon Posted March 21, 2022 Report Share Posted March 21, 2022 1 hour ago, Bulletstopper said: OEM Windows key for $20. Just curious, where can I get an OEM Windows key for $20? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted March 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2022 Has anyone heard of or used DBAN and open source drive cleaner? For cloud services, what about Nextcloud? Quote Good travelin !...............KirkFull-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletstopper Posted March 21, 2022 Report Share Posted March 21, 2022 12 hours ago, durangodon said: Just curious, where can I get an OEM Windows key for $20? Thanks. Here is where I buy mine, as recently as a month ago, after building a new computer https://m.vip-scdkey.com/software/p202105101337102054.html code GSVIP for 30% off that thru the end of the month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durangodon Posted March 21, 2022 Report Share Posted March 21, 2022 3 hours ago, Bulletstopper said: Here is where I buy mine, as recently as a month ago, after building a new computer https://m.vip-scdkey.com/software/p202105101337102054.html code GSVIP for 30% off that thru the end of the month. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV_ Posted March 22, 2022 Report Share Posted March 22, 2022 9 hours ago, Kirk W said: Has anyone heard of or used DBAN and open source drive cleaner? For cloud services, what about Nextcloud? Kirk CCleaner is a free drive wiper the same as any other. They overwrite data with ones and zerosYou are mixing apples and oranges talking cloud storage and wiping hardware drives HDD or SSD. If you have your data in the cloud you can access it with your new computer. If you are asking about erasing cloud data I am afraid that once on cloud servers forensically your data can be retrieved at a high cost. So unless you have high value crimes or industrial data subject to espionage all you need do is wipe your drive. One pass for most and as many passes as you want. Nothing wrong with the expense of replacing drives and used HDD drives are available here for 15 bucks for a working 1TB 3.5" desktop internal drive, and 20 bucks for a 1TB 2.5" drive for a laptop. I just had a friend who bought a Drive dock get a bunch of storage used drives for his use at a friend's a block away who is still running a computer repair biz. I do not do cloud storage not even for free. My local hard drives, both 2.5" drives in external cases and loose 3.5" drives, total over 20TB of storage. My problem is keeping them organized. My security data is air-gapped on USB thumb drives. And my systems are all imaged regularly. I stopped keeping clones except for the first year of my desktop systems when new. But I can't rep-lace the SSDs in my Surface devices so they only get images once the system is built. and tested, then regularly. Keeping data safe is neither costly nor requires my kind of background if one can read. (Or watch YouTube videos!) Quote RV/Derekhttp://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.Retired AF 1971-1998 When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted March 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) 34 minutes ago, RV_ said: You are mixing apples and oranges talking cloud storage and wiping hardware drives HDD or SSD. If Not really. I asked 2 very different questions. Hard drives I have dealt with in the past but it has been a while. Thus I was wondering if anyone has new and better ways. The second question was about cloud storage. One of the considerations I have is what happens if I use and then change locations? I have only used it for picture storage when we travel but I know that many people and many businesses use it extensively. Edited March 22, 2022 by Kirk W Quote Good travelin !...............KirkFull-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray,IN Posted March 24, 2022 Report Share Posted March 24, 2022 (edited) Know of a machine shop with a degausser? It doesn't harm the HDD, just completely erases everything by exposing it to a strong magnetic field. Edited March 24, 2022 by Ray,IN Quote 2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV_ Posted March 30, 2022 Report Share Posted March 30, 2022 Ray, I'd forgotten about those. And today with mostly old DVDs and CDs the only thing at risk are other hard drives if too close. Fastest total erase method for sure. Quote RV/Derekhttp://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.Retired AF 1971-1998 When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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