The best defense is to make sure all the data is backed up safely and frequently. Hard drives can crash, get lost, stolen, or encrypted by ransomware software. Step 1: Back up your hard-drive dataīefore you wipe your computer’s hard drive or do a factory reset, make sure to back up all of your information to your new computer, an external hard drive, or a web service.īacking up your data regularly is a smart way to keep your data safe. They’ll help keep you from passing on or losing your documents, photos, passwords, financial information, and personal data when you say goodbye to your old device.
How to completely wipe a hard driveįollow these steps to ensure you’re truly wiping your hard drive clean.
Anyone with recovery software and bad intentions could access them and put your privacy and the security of your personal information at risk. If you don’t, the files are there for the taking. Your personal information will be retrievable on a computer’s hard drive unless you take steps to wipe the hard drive clean. Why? The delete button doesn’t actually delete. It’s not enough to simply delete old files.
