So you just bought the newest computer on the market and are anxious to start using it.   As soon as you get it home you unplug the old computer and plug in the new one.  After a month or so of your wife asking to backup old data you decide it’s time.  That’s when you find out she gave it to little Johnny across the street.

After you said your peace and cooled down you went next door to talk to little Johnny only to find out that he tossed it out.  “It was really too old to do anything with.” he said before telling you he put it in yesterday’s trash.  Because you didn’t destroy the data on the hard drive anyone with access to the rubbish can now access your personal information.

In a perfect world you should have backed up all your personal data including pictures, music, movies, and documents prior to installing the new computer.  In that same wonderful place you should have also removed the hard drive prior to giving the computer to little Johnny next door.  Needless to say, you would have avoided a scuffle with your wife.  Unfortunately we’re not all Barbie and Ken living in the Dream House.

I see potential breaches every day at my job.  Perhaps one of the biggest is a customer who orders a new hard drive and leaves their old drive behind.  My favorite quote is, “What am I going to do with that?”  Permanent physical destruction or at least a thorough formatting to one of many specifications should have happened.

In the above scenario, someone who wants to get data off of your old hard drive can unless it’s properly destroyed.  With some very basic software and a few cables, anyone can dive into your old data and retrieve social security numbers, credit card numbers and whatever is saved on your hard drive.

Disposal of old equipment, theft and loss of equipment account for the bulk of data breaches today.  According to Microsoft, data breaches have declined significantly in the last few years.  The decline is possibly due to smarter users.  A very minor breach, according to Microsoft, is due to malware and virus attacks.

In the tech scene many of the big news stories relate to data breaches.  A few years ago the big story revolved around the government employee laptop scandal.  In another, TJX credit card numbers were leaked by accident.  In recent news the University of North Florida (UNF) leaked information about 107,000 students due to an attack on its network.

I know you probably don’t have the data that TJX, the IRS or UNF has.  But imagine if even your credit card number leaked out.  What if little Johnny was to open your old TurboTax information from 2004?  He’d find you and your wife’s social security numbers, income, employers, and other information which I’m sure you don’t want to share.  If he had mal intent he could use that information for his personal gains.

Data breaches wreak havoc on finances, personal and business credit, and emotions.  Within minutes after finding your data someone could use your credit card numbers to make online purchases.  It’s possible someone armed with the right data could assume your identity and take out a mortgage.  I had a minor headache when someone assumed my identity to buy products online.

You could have circumvented a Dr. Phil moment by listening to your wife and taking the proper precautions when disposing of your hard drive.  Although physical destruction is the best disposal method, there are free utilities available to ensure your data is destroyed.

(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner.  You can e-mail him at remoquin@gmail.com or call him directly at (978) 919-8059.)