John Jones / CC
Like many other Wisconsinites, you may be using the change of seasons to reorganize and recycle or donate unused items. If internet-connected devices are among those you are planning to give up, take some steps to ensure that you are not also turning over sensitive personal or financial information. Thieves could access information from hard drives including passwords and account numbers; tax returns; addresses and phone numbers; and more. To wipe a computer’s hard drive completely clean takes special software that you can purchase online or where computers are sold. If you do not have to donate, sell or recycle the hard drive with the device, consider destroying the drive with a hammer. For mobile devices, try to use the factory reset to wipe your device, or remove or erase the SIM and SD memory cards.
