Old Data

From: Marvin <marvin_at_rain.org>
Date: Tue Mar 31 00:35:39 1998

Seth J. Morabito wrote:

> I'm curious to know how people deal with old data found on systems
> they rescue/restore. The question was put in my mind recently by
> my acquisition of a MicroVAX 3800, with three intact disks overflowing
> with data that had apparently never been erased.

Well, on all the HDs that I have gotten, the only thing I will keep on the
HD is the operating system and any public domain/shareware utilities.
Everything else gets wiped (notice *wiped*, not just deleted.) Of the many
HDs I have run across, one of them contained the financial records of a bank
including those of a number of well known people around town. I do tend to
scan though the disk to see what is on it, but when I realized with this
stuff was, I just wiped the disk before it went out to someone else.

Had another instance where I had loaned out a HD to a business. When they
were through with it, they had some idiot, who passed themselves off as a
computer expert, replace the drive. They reformatted the drive thinking
that would be enough. Well, it would have been if they hadn't *really*
pissed me off by putting a label of "Big Fucker" on the drive before it was
returned to me. Long story made short, I recovered all the data off the
drive, broke the passwords, and returned the recovered data to the company
along with a few choice words about the lack of professionalism on the part
of the other "consultant". I think they got the point :).
Received on Tue Mar 31 1998 - 00:35:39 BST