| The mess with the Veterans Administration is | | | | discarded pc.So you're looking to sell, or |
| scary but there is an even larger problem | | | | recycle your old computer. You've cleaned up |
| looming on the horizon. It's just a matter of | | | | the keyboard and spray pressurized air all |
| time.-FACTThere're 575 mln PCs in use today, | | | | over the box.But have you deleted all your |
| 1.3 bln by 2010By 2010, mature markets in the | | | | old files?I mean REALLY deleted them? With |
| United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific will | | | | all the rising threats from identity theft, |
| have added 150 mln new PCs, while emerging | | | | and Internet mischief, I don't think it a bad |
| markets will have added 566 mln new | | | | idea to be proactive and clean-up that old |
| computers. Overall, there will be 1.3 | | | | hard drive.So find out if important data was |
| billion PCs, up from 575 mln today. The | | | | really gone after you hit the 'delete' key.A |
| number of PCs in emerging markets will grow | | | | few studies have been done where a number of |
| at a 31% compounded annual growth rate .Now | | | | purchased second-hand computers ramdomly |
| add to this number that each of these are | | | | selected and taken it to the guys at the |
| replaced on an average 3-5 yrs which is where | | | | Computer Clinic , Anywhere,USA.They put our |
| the sleeping giant waits to strike. Now we're | | | | hard drive to the test. Within an hour, old |
| already looking at over 1 billion pc's | | | | files were being retrieved all over the |
| waiting to strike back.Now factor in Russia | | | | place. Financial information, emails, |
| which has long been dubbed a hub of tech | | | | addresses, even digital photos -- all of |
| fraud, credit-card holders have been | | | | which were deleted by the previous users.The |
| justifiably wary about using their plastic | | | | computer techs were able to retrieve all the |
| there. Travelers have been warned that after | | | | data by using simple off-the-shelf |
| charging a dinner to their card in Russia, | | | | software.OK, so how do you really get rid of |
| that number could be copied and used even | | | | the old files?The trick is to use software |
| after the owner left the country.Apart from | | | | that measures up to Department of Defense |
| anecdotal evidence, there are some solid | | | | standards for deleting data. The software |
| reasons for switching to a paranoid "cash | | | | basically makes three passes over your hard |
| only" existence. Notably, an unknown number | | | | drive, writing and rewriting the data as it |
| of PIN codes giving access to credit- and | | | | goes. It's the equivalent of someone |
| debit-card accounts were stolen in mid-1999 | | | | scribbling over a sheet of notebook paper, |
| after a security breach at a Moscow | | | | over and over again until it's nothing more |
| card-processing center. Subsequently, many | | | | than an unreadable mess.You can buy the |
| cardholders had their checking accounts | | | | software at most software retailers, |
| cleaned out, in a rare example of a massive | | | | especially office supply chain stores like |
| PIN theft.According to the Internet Fraud | | | | Staples and Office Depot. My recommendation |
| Complaint Center's 2001 Internet Fraud Report | | | | is a program called "Drive Washer" -- it |
| (PDF), Russia is at the bottom of a list of | | | | comes in a bright orange box (you can't miss |
| the top 10 countries for Internet fraud | | | | it) and meets all the necessary specs. |
| perpetrators, with only 0.2 percent of the | | | | Remember to look for the Department of |
| identified perpetrators.In the beginning of | | | | Defense standards marking on the box before |
| Id Theft one of the popular ways to get the | | | | you buy any program.Now, if you're on a |
| info needed to create a fraud was dumpster | | | | budget there's an excellent shareware program |
| diving. This was accomplished by picking | | | | called "Darik's Boot and Nuke". I planned on |
| through the trash at a resaruant,mall,bank. | | | | listing more software here, but this one is |
| There you could obtain ssn,bank and cc acct | | | | really all you need.If you just plan on |
| numbers and so on.The new breed of dumpster | | | | donating your computer, then you can't go |
| diver will go for your hardrive of your old | | | | wrong with Goodwill. |