Thursday, March 31, 2011

Destroy data on old PC or it could come back to bite you


Computer Care: Destroy data on old PC or it could come back to bite you

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com
POSTED: March 19, 2011 9:27 a.m.

You have an old computer that you want to give away or throw out. Perhaps you found a gem of a PC at a yard sale. Either way, the issue to consider is the data on the hard drive.

If you were discarding a computer, your old data should be deleted prior to giving it away. If you were to be the receiver of one, the data should still be deleted. Either way, the existing data is sensitive and in need of erasure.

Even if the computer in question doesn't work and there is hard-drive failure, the data remains.

So what, you think? Think again.

It may not be government secrets, but you have address books, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, banking information (including credit card and account numbers), business e-mails, letters to your loved ones, family photos and perhaps a personal journal.

You wouldn't want any of that information to fall into the wrong hands.

What about a used PC you just came upon? What if there are viruses, malware, porn or those government secrets on it? You don't want any of that on your new-found computer.

So how do you clean your hard drive? There are various methods. First let me say that deleting files does not truly delete them.

A client of mine once mentioned that she cleaned up her system by deleting desktop icons, thinking she deleted the programs. She did not. All she got was a tidy desktop. The applications remained.

Even if she had deleted the associated files, they would still, in a sense be there. By deleting folders and files, you simply remove the reference to them, their names. It's telling the system that the space used by that old file may now be used by something else. Until it is overwritten, the old file remains. Someone like me, with the proper utility, could still find the files after you delete them.

You could format the hard drive or reinstall Windows, which also includes a reformat, but the old files are still there, beneath the new copy of your operating system.

In most cases, unless you really have something to hide, this should suffice.

If you really want a secure wipe of your system, you need a comprehensive utility to accomplish that task. There are of course, programs you could purchase, but there are also good free ones.

DBAN, Darik's Boot and Nuke, doesn't have the smoothest interface, but it gets the job done. It can be run from a CD or a USB flash drive and comprehensively wipes your drive clean.

There are various methods to wiping the hard drive, from one pass across the disk to many, each writing random zeros and ones across it, rendering the old data unreadable. A common wipe known as the DOD (Department of Defense) wipe, uses three passes. The more passes, the more secure it becomes.

Another free utility is Eraser. The difference from it and DBAN is that you can specifically pick which files you want to erase with this, instead of wiping the entire hard drive. You can delete files, but leave the operating system intact.

There is also the option of destroying the hard drive, as opposed to just deleting its files. Whatever you can safely do to stop the drive from spinning will render it unreadable. Drilling a few well-placed holes through the drive or banging some nails completely through it does the trick.

Contrary to popular belief, household magnets do nothing to disrupt the data on the drive. The magnets that are used in a drive (neodymium or rare earth type) are much stronger than anything you'll find in your tool box.

There is a process known as degaussing that uses those special magnets. It's an effective procedure, but an expensive alternative.

There are some ways that should not be used to destroy data on a hard drive. Nuking it the microwave, soaking it with acid or using it for target practice may work, but are extremely dangerous methods for obvious reasons.

Alternatively, before giving away your computer you can remove the hard drive. There are only four screws and a couple of cables. Then you can decide if you want to reuse the drive or delete the data.

I have been asked by clients if they need to remove the RAM (system memory) before giving away a computer. RAM is only temporary storage in a computer. Once the system is powered down, all that was stored in memory is lost. RAM need not be removed, unless you want to reuse it in another system.

A hard drive, on the other hand, is permanent storage. The data is written to disk. It will remain intact until overwritten or deleted.

Whether you're on the giving or receiving end of recycled equipment, it should be imperative that you remove existing data from the hard drive, one way or another.

If you don't, it may come back to bite you.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Online Privacy


Computer Care: Privacy online doesn’t exist, but that needs to be changed

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com

POSTED: March 5, 2011 2:29 a.m.


Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

Every e-mail you send, every page you visit, each form you fill out, all the ads you click on and all the products you buy online are all there to see for anyone who wants to.

Then there is the information you place on the Internet willingly. All that personal information, those photos, your plans, your thoughts and those quotes you published to Facebook.

You've heard of Internet privacy? I believe it's but a concept, something that could have been a benefit, but we let slip away. Remember when it was just our Social Security numbers we were worried about? Well, we are way past that now.

There used to be so-called paper trails of what people did. Now there are virtual trails, and they are just as real. One day, it may be used against you.

A Barrow County teacher lost her job due to a photo she posted on Facebook. She was on vacation, out of the country, holding a beer. And I thought Prohibition was over.

A Florida teen was convicted of murder because of a voicemail that was left on a cell phone.

It's not just computers now - cell phones, too, are open to ad companies and anyone else, including law enforcement.

Nothing is private anymore. Advertising companies track every mouse click we make, and it's worth billions to them. A 2009 study cited that interactive ads were responsible for $300 billion of economic activity in the U.S. alone. Globally, $10 trillion is currently being spent online each year.

Clearly, someone is making money via the Internet. The ad companies claim that curbing the tracking of our online habits will ultimately harm the economy. Allowing them to track us is a big price to pay. Our privacy should be paramount.

Our Internet service providers, and who knows who else, have access to our e-mails. They are about as private as talking into a microphone at a filled auditorium. E-mail letters are more like postcards. They are open for anyone to see along the delivery route.

Would you give the kid at the checkout your phone number and address, age and Social Security number or allow the postman to read your mail? Of course we wouldn't. But we do.

Sure you can use private mode, clean your cookies and install filters. You can opt out of certain websites for data gathering, even take advantage of privacy policies and clear your web bugs. But you are still being watched, one way or another. Big brother is out there. Remember, just because we're paranoid, doesn't mean we're not being watched.

Encryption is probably the best (but not the easiest) way to ensure anonymity in sending e-mails. You could also use a proxy server to surf the Web anonymously.

There are other proactive things you can do, but how effective are they really? The jury is still out.

For now, take advantage of the usefulness of things like Privacy Choice, Privacy Mark, TRUSTe, SquareTrade and BBBOnline. Look for their seals on websites that you frequent.

Install a good Internet security program, not just an anti-virus but one that will warn you of other imminent dangers.

Use of a throwaway e-mail address, one that you won't check for incoming mail, will ease spam. Mailinator is a great free one. Use it to sign up for things instead of using your own "real" account.

Be careful if you use a company computer. They own it and everything in it, just like the contents of your desk.

It's time for laws to be passed to protect our online activity. Some have tried and others are working on it.

Last month, a "Do Not Track" bill was introduced in Congress. Its goal is to prevent Internet advertisers from tracking what we do online. The bill is similar to the Do Not Call Registry that is used to curb the activity of telemarketers.

The new tracking bill would only work if we choose to elect to not be tracked, just like with the phone solicitation bill. If we don't take advantage, or know, of what's in place, nothing changes. We would not be protected if we didn't opt out. Maybe we need something stronger.

Recently, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., and Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., introduced privacy bills, and at least one Republican will also be introducing a bill soon.

Congressmen from Florida and Texas are also working on other Internet privacy bills.

Meanwhile, until legislation is passed, be cautious of what links you click on, what e-mails you respond to and what you post on Facebook. Be wary each time you fill out an online form. Make sure the website is secure (https) before you purchase anything online.

Write to your Congress members and to the White House. Tell them we need better privacy laws concerning the Internet.

Let's seal the envelope on e-mails and make advertisers earn their money the old fashioned way instead of snooping. Better legislation may be the key.

Just remember, if it's an e-mail you're writing, you never know who else will be reading it.