How to sell computer?

[Hokiefyd]

I will be selling our Dell computer with 24" widescreen monitor (if interested, PM me separately).

My question relates to clearing ALL personal information off the computer. I don't want to reformat the HDD, because it's set up very well with Windows 7 Enterprise, Office 2007 Enterprise, etc. I don't want to have to re-install everything...that'll take a full weekend of letting it update, then update the updates, etc. I have CCleaner on it and it's already erased all of the cookies, etc.

I want to ensure that ALL personal databases are gone. Things like IE9's stored passwords database. Has anyone run across a "step by step" guide to erasing all personal information off a Windows computer before turning it over to someone else? Kind of like a DIY tutorial on returning it to as "empty" as possible without formatting the drive.

Thanks!

 

[getnpsi]

Unfortunately the people capable of retrieving information wont be slowed down by ccleaner or even low level formatting. If your dell came with a CD i suggest going ahead and wiping it and installing it to factory condition...if the hard drive is pretty new and large capacity you might consider keeping it, and buying a 30 dollar drive you can again install your oem stuff fresh. some people actually like the idea of a clean slate

some of those all in one software such as ccleaner have drive wipe with encryption which is going to ward off most people but not all.

 

[MarkStock]

ccleaner has a feature do do multiple level hard drive wipes. Apparently one of the techniques is to department of defense levels.

It should also remove the things you mention.

Windows also has it's own cleaning software as does internet explorer. Just poke around the options.

Lastly, go to downloads.com and see if there is something else apart from ccleaner. It may pick up things ccleaner missed.

 

[Drew99GT]

Did you use CCleaner's secure delete for all the browser stuff? That should be sufficient. For other files (tax returns, anything sensitive), you can use Fileshredder. Also, in CCleaner, wipe the free space via the tools/drivewiper.

You can set it to overwrite 35 times. It'll take forever, but I doubt anyone's going to crack that!

 

[dparm]

Reinstalling everything should only take 1-2 hours tops. You can multitask. Let Windows Updates run overnight.

I suggest using DBAN to securely erase the drive:
http://www.dban.org/

 

[Hokiefyd]

Thanks guys. I will DBAN it and re-install. I agree, probably not worth the risk.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Thanks guys. I will DBAN it and re-install. I agree, probably not worth the risk.


My suggestion is to destroy the DBAN disk when you're done -- you don't want to accidentally reuse it and erase something.

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Thanks guys. I will DBAN it and re-install. I agree, probably not worth the risk.


That is a good call.
I would never personally sell anyone a complete desktop I once used without a full re-stage.

 

[PandaBear]

If you are not willing to wipe the disk and reinstall the OS, there's only so much you can do. Most importantly how important is the data not in random stranger's hand? If they are just personal finance info they are probably not that valuable even if others get it. If they are trade secret with high value, then you better do everything.

I'd get a restoration CD that came with the original computer and reinstall the OS with that disc. It should be enough to demonstrate the computer is working and not letting any personal info out.

 

[LeakySeals]

I feel guilty getting paid to wipe hard drives..Like the first thing somebody that can only afford an old used computer does is break out the extraction software looking for your turbo tax database file, or spend months trying to decrypt your saved firefox passwords..

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
I'd get a restoration CD that came with the original computer and reinstall the OS with that disc. It should be enough to demonstrate the computer is working and not letting any personal info out.


Yes, I still have the OEM restore disc set that came with the computer (and have used it before). I am having CCleaner do a three-pass wipe on the HDD that I was using for Windows backups right now, and will restore the OEM software to that drive. I will keep the main data drive I had in it on the shelf, just in case I should need anything off it, even though I've already transferred the files to the Mac.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
If you are not willing to wipe the disk and reinstall the OS, there's only so much you can do. Most importantly how important is the data not in random stranger's hand? If they are just personal finance info they are probably not that valuable even if others get it. If they are trade secret with high value, then you better do everything.

I'd get a restoration CD that came with the original computer and reinstall the OS with that disc. It should be enough to demonstrate the computer is working and not letting any personal info out.



Identity theft. Ever try to fix that? Very difficult.

 

[Doog]

I always replace the drive with a new one or scrap the computer with the drive removed. Then disassemble the drive and destroy the platters. Identity theft is no joke. An identity thief will buy your computer just to get your identity and then re-create a financial clone of you and charge up $2-300k in phony credit cards, car loans and even home mortgages. Your credit will be ruined for decades.

 

[BearZDefect]

Create a new Windows user, then delete the old user and that entire profile. If you create your own folders outside the usual Users folder then delete those too.

Then let CCleaner's drive wiper or similar tool wipe the free space.

To me, that procedure is "good enough" for many cases. And it allows me to pass on the PC to a new user with any expensive software intact.

But if it's going to a complete stranger I feel more confident wiping the hard disk then doing a system restore from the OEM DVDs. Or, just take out the hard disk and let the new owner supply their own.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Reinstalling everything should only take 1-2 hours tops. You can multitask. Let Windows Updates run overnight.

I suggest using DBAN to securely erase the drive:
http://www.dban.org/

+1 on DBAN or other DOD approved wipe software. There are freeware tools (or trials of retail software) that will allow you to easily retrieve files that have been deleted; one does not have to be hacker to use them either. In both of my degree programs for IT security, I was able to retrieve 99% of files that I had deleted 7 years prior from a flash drive and from old hard drives (even though that used the NTFS format) using a trial of Forensic Toolkit (FTK).

Just food for thought...

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: Doog
I always replace the drive with a new one or scrap the computer with the drive removed. Then disassemble the drive and destroy the platters. Identity theft is no joke. An identity thief will buy your computer just to get your identity and then re-create a financial clone of you and charge up $2-300k in phony credit cards, car loans and even home mortgages. Your credit will be ruined for decades.


Agreed. Not only do I have a lot of personal information on my drives, but I have a number of SQL databases with client information.

Whenever I've removed a PC from service, the drive has been removed and drilled several times with my drill press. The rest of the PC was scrapped. It's simply not worth the possible data theft if someone were to find a way to retrieve some of the old data.

 

[rjundi]

DBAN does wonders at cleaning in a few easy steps. I follow up by another self booting cleaner for good measure.

Realistically if the person is still going to get your data after that type of disc based clean you may as well give up. It is easier to break into a working PC then try and recover your bits of data. Identify thieves will move to easy target.

I think destruction is wasteful practice but that is just me.

 

[Brons2]

I have to physically destroy drives at work when they are server drives that won't spin up anymore, there's just no other way. It's not wasteful, just reality. We have FERPA protected data. Anyway the state government has a machine offsite that will smash the drives into tiny bits, so I drive them over there and then watch the machine operator feed the drives in to the crusher. Then I have to sign off on the drive being destroyed to the auditors and soforth.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: Brons2
I have to physically destroy drives at work when they are server drives that won't spin up anymore, there's just no other way. It's not wasteful, just reality. We have FERPA protected data. Anyway the state government has a machine offsite that will smash the drives into tiny bits, so I drive them over there and then watch the machine operator feed the drives in to the crusher. Then I have to sign off on the drive being destroyed to the auditors and soforth.


The CIA nor FBI can recover data after the 7 pass method of DBAN. For a home user it is wasteful IMHO to throw out the drive. However piece of mind is likely worth the price for some.

 

[Brons2]

Originally Posted By: rjundi


The CIA nor FBI can recover data after the 7 pass method of DBAN. For a home user it is wasteful IMHO to throw out the drive. However piece of mind is likely worth the price for some.


You cannot run DBAN on a drive that won't spin up, that is the point. But your data still exists on there and can be recovered for as little as a few hundred dollars. Therefore, physical destruction is sometimes necessary.