Hey everyone! I've got a few old laptops hanging around my house that I no longer use, and I'm feeling hesitant to just toss them out because they still contain my personal information. What are some effective ways to securely wipe all the data off these laptops so I can dispose of them without worry? Any advice would really help!
2 Answers
If the laptops are broken and you don't need the drives anymore, a solid way to ensure your data is gone is to break the drives physically. You could use a hammer to smash them or even open them up and remove the platters. I’ve even seen people use the platters as coasters—just be careful when handling them!
If you want to be extra cautious and ensure nobody can access your data, you could use a program like DBAN and run it while connected through a USB to SATA adapter. That way, you can fully wipe the drives. But if you're just looking to get rid of the laptops, physically destroying the drives is probably your best bet—like drilling a hole through them or smashing them to bits. No one's going to go through that effort to read your data!
Great idea! I didn't know about using DBAN. Should help me a lot before getting rid of these.