If it's time to replace your computer and you intend to pass it along, it is important to remove your personal information like passwords and credit card numbers.
While experts agree the only way to guarantee your computer is free from data is by destroying the hard drive, such an extreme measure renders the machine useless to a family member or friend who would be grateful for the hardware hand-me-down.
Data wipe can be divided into two levels, based on the recipient and how much protection you require. The Microsoft Support team recommends that you remove personal information whether you donate it, sell it or trash it.
Before you begin the purge process, back up all the documents and programs you want for your next computer.
You can back up your files on an external drive, a USB stick, a writable DVD or in the cloud where the information is stored with an online service. Go to the Windows Start Menu, choose System and Maintenance, and then Backup and Restore Center if you are a Vista or Windows 7 user. XP users click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup. Windows will walk you through the process.
Clean-up starts with the browsers. Open each browser like Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox and delete your browsing history -- including all temporary Internet files, cookies and passwords.
Internet Explorer users will find Delete Browsing History under Safety located near the Help icon.
Google Chrome users can clear history by clicking on the wrench icon, then Options, Under the Hood, Clear browsing data, and select Everything. Firefox users can open Tools in the upper left side of the screen, click Clear Recent History, select Everything for the time range to clear, and select Clear Now.
Now that your online activity has been cleared, move on to your e-mail program if you do not use a browser-based mail service like Windows Live Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL or Gmail. If you use Outlook Express or Windows Mail, there will be personal information that should be removed from your computer.
Outlook Express users need to search for and delete .dbx files; Windows Mail users need to search for and delete .eml files; and Microsoft Office Outlook users need to search for and delete .pst files.
Remove all e-mail account settings and passwords. For instance, Outlook Express users will open the Tools drop-down menu and select Accounts. Click the Mail tab, select your personal accounts and then click on Remove.
The last area to clean is the internal hard drive, where all of your files are stored. Close your e-mail program and anything else you may have open on your desktop. Open My Documents and remove everything in the folder. You can select all of the items by holding down the Ctrl key and press "A" key. Hit the delete key.
If you have additional files on your desktop, remove those as well by repeating the select and delete process. However, you do not want to remove the Recycle Bin, so deselect it by putting your cursor over the trash icon, hold down Ctrl and "A" key again. Now you've selected everything on the desktop except the Recycle Bin, the destination for the selected items. Delete.
Some people squirrel away important records in other locations. Check all drives thoroughly and delete any additional documents.
You may also want to clear the reference points to your documents listed under Recent Documents. To do this, XP users can right-click Start, and then click Properties, Customize, and Advanced tab. Under Recent documents, click Clear List. Vista and Windows 7 users can click Start, right-click Recent Items and select Clear Recent Items List.
While not always necessary, it is a good idea to remove programs that have user licenses if you will not be passing the licenses along with the computer. The computer will run faster if you remove excess programs.
For Vista and Windows 7 owners, go into the Control Panel and select Programs. Consider each program and delete them as appropriate. XP users will click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Add or Remove Programs. In the Currently installed programs box, click the program that you want to remove, and then click Remove. If you are prompted to confirm the removal of the program, click Yes.
Finally, empty the Recycle Bin.
All of your personal information should now be inaccessible to benign users. However, the files are actually still on your hard drive and could be read by someone using data recovery software. If you desire an extra measure of security, programs are available that will overwrite the hard drive with random ones and zeros.
There are many disk wipe programs available, some of which are free. Microsoft Support features DP Wiper, freeware that complies with Department of Defense standards.
Ogden-based TopTenREVIEWS.com guides consumers by comparing products in the world of technology, including electronics, software and Web services. Have a question for TopTenREVIEWS? E-mail Leslie Meredith at leslie@toptenreviews.com.
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