deleting information from computer?

Question

i am giving my old computer to my in laws but want to make sure that the old documents have been deleted. how can i make sure that once i delete the items and empty the recycle that it can't be restored back again

Answer 1

Can either get a copy of some type of data destruction software, or just download and save delete and copy and do everything you can to write over al of the data on th hard drive a few times.

You could actually download a large movie file and copy it over and over again, delete and copy again and again, then delete everything you dont want anyone to see.

So long as the data on the hard drive is written over a few times then you should be okay. Thats all data destruction software does.

Now, if you have the recovery disks, you could format your hard drive that way.

Or if you really want to eliminate things you could zero out your hard drive. Just go to the manufacturer site of ther hard drive, or search online for a zero out program for your particular hard drive. Run that and youll have to reinstall the operating system after that, but youll be good to go thereafter.

Many ways to do the same thing -- just gotta re-write over all the data on your hard drive a few times.

Answer 2

If you are selling your computer, thoroughly clean your hard drive. Deleting files and reformatting is not enough. Reformatting does not overwrite every sector, and private information can remain retrievable. Use a secure delete or disk wiping utility to overwrite every sector on all hard drives. Be sure to use a utility that supports the U.S. DoD standard of seven passes or wipes. While this method is good enough for most people, be aware that the only absolute way of destroying all traces of everything your hard drives is to have these disks degaussed (demagnetized) and physically destroyed.
Suggested: BCWipe, Evidence Eliminator, or SDelete.

http://www.tom-cat.com/security.html

Answer 3

Hi Dude,
You would need to get a shredding program which basically goes through the free space on your computer and overwrites the free space.
I personally use PGP (http://www.pgp.com ) however I know that other brands that do it also include Iolo (http://www.iolo.com ) I think their product is called search and recover (but has a wipe option too).
Regards
Stuart
http://www.followmyfitness.com

Answer 4

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