One of the big services that many shredding companies offer is hard drive destruction. One of the most common questions people ask is: why? Why bother doing this professionally when I could just go out into the garage and smash the drive with a hammer? What about just throwing it away in the trash as well? Unfortunately many still do not understand the need for proper hard drive disposal.
The main culprit for this line of thought is the belief that deleting your data is what destroys it and makes it irretrievable. This is a false mindset to have. Someone who is dedicated and has the right software can retrieve data, which works out poorly for you if that data happens to contain very sensitive information. The only way you should be disposing of hard drives is through physical destruction.
What Happens on Delete?
When you delete a file, you aren’t truly destroying it; not yet anyways. Upon hitting the famous delete key, your computer removes the directory listing of the file, making it so you don’t see it in your documents anymore, and marks its location on the drive as “available”. Afterwards, new data is able to be saved over top of it in time, but how long this takes depends on how much new data you’re prone to saving. Even after something new has been saved over, it is still possible to recover some fragments of the old data. This truly makes “deleting” data not the secure solution to destroying data as most people believe it to be. A better option is required, and there is one available.
Physical Destruction
The process of destroying a hard drive is the most secure option for a reason: there’s nothing left when it’s done! Data can’t be reconstructed if the storage device is in a million tiny pieces. Of course banging away with a hammer might be tempting, and fun even, but this isn’t a sure way to destroy the drive. The destruction will not be thorough enough to destroy everything, and some sections could be missed completely.
Professional document destruction specialists, use an industrial grade shredding machine that completely destroys all components. These massive shredders chew electronics up at an astonishing rate. The remains are so completely destroyed that it is impossible for any data to be recovered. Afterwards the material is sent away to be recycled into new raw materials and products. Not only are you safer for it, but the environment is better off as well.
Who Shreds?
Tri-State Shredding is a Pennsylvania based shredding company with a specialty in hard drive destruction. When you’ve seen the light, and are ready for professional services, reach out to us and let us know what you need. We’ll be happy to help keep your private information secure.
Call: 717-233-5606