Getting a new computer?

Are you planning on buying a new computer or have you recently purchased one? If so, what are you doing with the old one? Taking it to the dump? If this is the case, you may be putting yourself in danger.

Throwing Away Your Hard Drive

Let's take a simple scenario. Your current computer is running very slow - maybe it is full of viruses or the hard drive is simply broken. What do you plan to do with this load of junk? Most will immediately decide to take it to the nearest dump yard and buy a nice fast computer. However, doing so cold lead to privacy danger or even fraud. Even with a broken hard drive, it is still possible to retrieve data from it if someone steals it from a dump yard. The only way to prevent this danger is to destroy the hard drive. Smash it to pieces I say! Separate the pieces into different bags and then let the dustbin men take it. There - your privacy is now significantly reduced.

Monitor, RAM & Graphics Card

Now, what about the other components? The monitor - there is nothing wrong with owning a spare monitor. What if the new one breaks and it's no longer under warranty? At least you could use your old one. If you really don't want it, try selling it to friends/family or on eBay.

Random Access Memory (RAM) can be quite expensive so maybe it is worth holding on to the modules you own. If your computer is very old, say half a decade or older, then the RAM modules are probably not worth keeping or selling. However, if the computer is fairly new (within 5 years), then it could be worth keeping or selling the modules. Older modules can be quite expensive nowadays as they are not used in modern computers, but some people will want to upgrade their old computers. Try selling it on eBay and see how much you can get.

If you are buying a new computer, it is most likely due to the performance it gives and/or the graphics it produces. Therefore, it is unlikely that using your old graphics card would be of much use to you. However, as with the monitor, you could still keep it if the new one breaks outside the warranty period. Alternatively, you could sell it.

Selling Your Computer

Selling your computer as whole? Formatting the hard-drive to remove your data may not be enough. Even after a format, it is possible to retrieve parts of files or even complete files with various software. Darik's Boot And Nuke (DBAN) securely destroys all data on all partitions and writes remaining available space with 0s and 1s to prevent old data being recovered.

I could go on forever with all the different components on your computer with arguments for and against keeping/selling it so it would be best for you to think though the options yourself.

I hope you benefit from these tips, especially the hard drive data privacy. Remember to protect yourself by destroying the hard drive.