Due to our ever growing and fast changing technological age, it is now commonplace that we swap our old smartphones for newer versions every couple years or so. Having the latest model is great but with the increasing risk of identity theft it is essential that whenever we do decide to purchase a newer smartphone or any other electronic device, that we ensure our old devices are completely and securely wiped. This article will assist you in erasing devices.
Trade in Your Smartphone
You’ve decided you want to trade in your old smartphone or another device for a newer one. You need to to make sure to wipe it clean of any private information that is still stored so as not to grant a perfect stranger access to your personal and private information.
Now, while this may be a rational thing to take care of, most people tend to neglect or overlook this important step as they get wrapped up in the excitement of getting a new toy to play with. Most people don’t realise that securely erasing your device is much easier than you might think.
Erasing Devices
For instance, wiping an external drive on Windows is pretty straightforward. The simplest route is to choose one of many free drive-wiping tools available. All that is required of you is to place your flash drive or any other external hard drive device you might have into your desktop, select the drive-wiping tool then follow the instructions of the program.
When it comes to cleaning a desktop, laptop, or other internal hard drive, it is best to keep in mind such a task can be carried out quicker if you have mechanical or hybrid hard drives. If you are using a mechanical or hybrid hard drive then you can certainly make use of these. When wiping your personal content on Windows 8 and 8.1 all that is required is for you to select the “reset your PC” option, then elect to securely wipe all the drive contents. You need to make sure that your laptop is protected. And just so you’re more secure, it is best to select the “fully clean the drive,” option to ensure no personal file or information can be exhumed by an untrusted party.
On Windows 7, Linux, or any other operating system, you should employ a tool such as DBAN. This tool helps reformat and wipe hard drives, sometimes overwriting them with random nonsensical pieces of data. However, if you do decide to use this tool, know that the next user will have to reinstall the operating system in order for the PC to return to an operational level.
Protecting Your Gadgets
Without a doubt the devices that are most often updated are smartphones and tablets, therefore it is extremely important to make sure such devices are securely wiped. The good thing about devices like iPhones and iPads is that they all use encryption which makes it easier to wipe the device by going to and using the “erase all contents and settings,” feature. Be smart and diligent when giving away an old smartphone, tablet, or any other electronic device which may hold private information you don’t want falling into someone else’s hands.
Make the most of your current device and make it your own
