What You Need To Know About Hard Drive Shredding

Shredding hard drives destruction of hard disks, erased hard drives, whatever you’d like to label it it’s an important business that requires accuracy and understanding. If you’re an individual, an enterprise as well as a public organization There’s no doubt that, sooner or later you’ll need to ship your old laptop off into the air to be recycled.

In the year 2020, around 4 billion computers were sold across the globe. That’s over 400 million computer systems will be outdated every year! Many people believe their data is safe from being stolen once it’s dumped into landfill sites, it isn’t the case.

With advancements in technology that cost as low as $100, it’s never been more easy for criminals to gain access to your private information. The best way to be sure that your data is safe is to invest in a shredder for your hard drive.

An understanding of the process of hard-drive shredding entails is essential to ensure that the process is carried out properly and safely. Since the practice has grown in popularity there are many businesses and individuals who have been exposed as employees who have no experience and don’t know how much power these devices produce.

In not following the instructions carefully enough They’ve caused irreparable damage to the older computers and rendered them unusable which cost their company or their home enormous amounts of dollars!

This article will give you all the essential information needed for proper destruction of your hard drive as well as other issues including greater security levels as well as peace of mind.

What exactly is Hard Drive Shredding?

Shredding of a hard drive is a process that involves the user dismantling the hard drive and then tear it down one layer at a time until nothing remains other than dust (and perhaps 1s and 0s). This technique ensures that all information stored within the drive has been destroyed and is now impossible to read.

Even with modern machines it’s difficult to retrieve the data from a drive that has been destroyed because everything is shredded into tiny pieces that hackers aren’t able to restore it to its original state. There are other options like degaussing but this method just demagnetizes the hard drives, not tearing them up like you would do with machines.

How Can You Tell If Your Hard Drive Should be shredded?

You can determine whether your hard drive needs shredding by following these simple steps:

If you’re donating the drive to be recycled, you should be sure to look for a label that mentions ‘PCB’ or Circuit Board. The PCB houses all the components essential to a computer (CPU RAM, CPU and more. ) Without it the old computer won’t function as it should.
If there’s no label with the word PCB printed on the surface of the drive, make sure you check the size. Most desktop computers are equipped with larger HDDs as compared to laptops which means it could be an SSD in the event that yours is unusually small. SSDs are difficult to damage, and typically require special techniques like degaussing.
Another way to determine whether your hard drive requires shredding is to check the model and maker. The older HDDs are typically extremely heavy (and large) however modern HDD’s are extremely small and light (like credit card).
Also, you can do the simplest Google search of your brand name and model. If you can find someone selling second-hand versions of your item and it’s likely to be suitable to be sent off for recycling! However in the event that you don’t locate anything related to your drive on the internet, it’s time to make a shred.

Advantages to Hard Drive Shredding

There are many advantages in getting rid of old computer components like:

Prevention of opportunistic criminals One of the primary reasons why people want to erase your hard disks is because it blocks criminals with apprehension from accessing personal or sensitive information.

Most often, they’ll sell their gadgets and appliances on sites like eBay to pay cash for them, but there are some who remove these items and take everything they can get their hands on including details of passwords and credit card numbers as well as the bank’s account number!

Any information in the incorrect hands could result in death So removing old technology is vital to avoid identity theft.

Making sure that your data does not fall in the wrong hands: In the same way as preventing the possibility of crime shredding of hard drives is crucial to safeguard the environment.

Just recycling all electronic devices to an experienced business is a great way to beginning, but if someone discovers a way to access your computer, there’s a good chance they’ll gain access to data from users who have previously used it.

This could be anything from old photos cameras to preferences in software that contain important business data. A great example was in 2012 when over 300 Syrian activists were able to have their Gmail accounts compromised after recycling their laptops.

When hackers gained access to their personal data It was just a matter of time until Bashar al-Assad’s government was able to track them down and killed the hackers. Therefore, it is essential to make sure that you have gotten rid of all your information prior to disposing of your electronics.
How do you shred a Hard Drive?

There are two ways to eliminate old hard drives: physical shredding and degaussing. Both are extremely effective however physical shredders can also be utilized for other gadgets like old mobile phones or DVDs, credit cards, etc. Degaussers, on the other hand, are typically only suitable for computers.

Physical Shredding: Prior to deciding on the right machine, it is important to know the kind of disk you’ll be dealing in because the process may differ dependent on the type of drive, SSD or an HDD. SSDs are commonly used in laptops with newer models because they’re lighter and smaller than traditional hard drives.

The drawback, however, is that they’re hard to remove and this has led several companies to offer solutions for this. However the more traditional HDDs are much simpler to remove, however physically shredders aren’t as effective in destroying each and every piece.

Here’s how it is done:

1 . Remove the USB drive plug from the computer and take out any wires that connect it so the drive can be laid flat the table or other flat surfaces.

2 . Set the machine up over the device and then lower the lid that protects it so you can begin feeding your hard drive into it in a gradual manner. Be careful not to push anything inside the device as this will probably cause it to jam to the point of being completely jammed!

3 . Then, wait until the shredded remnants emerge from the other side, then shut off the machine.

4 . If you are planning to use the old hard drive to do any other purpose in the near future, make sure you remove all pieces left behind using the help of a screwdriver or magnet, else they could cause severe damage to your new computer!

Degaussing: In regards to degaussers there are two distinct kinds function in different ways. One is made to work with rotating drives, and the other one is designed for old SSHD drives. There are also machines that are suitable for both however it’s worthwhile to research before making a decision as not all degaussing companies provide take-back programs similar to physical shredders.

If this is the case then you must look up reviews on the internet before you give them your company.

1 . Verify the specifications of the machine prior to returning it to your home to ensure it’s compatible with your drive. If the company only provides degausses for spinning drives Don’t waste time since this method is extremely expensive and slow!

2 . After you’ve established that the device is functioning, carefully take your device out of its case and plug in any connecting wires, so that you can start conducting tests. Make sure to plug in the power strip that has an on/off switch , so that you don’t need to unplug and reconnect every one time.

3 . Take note of which wires are connected to which and gradually start feeding the drive-through and watching for bumps or lumps that are not even to emerge. If your device is stuck or you see sparks coming out of the device, switch off the machine immediately and call an expert for assistance.

4 . After you’ve fed the entire drive, turn on the degausser to finish the process. Afterwards, you should remove the remaining pieces using the help of a screwdriver or magnet to ensure you don’t cut your own. After that, you’ll need to find ways to plug any remaining holes prior to adding recycled-safe tape to protect yourself in the event of.