With in computer hardware continually changing eventually there comes a time to get rid of an older computer. When that time arrives, it is essential that you don't pass on your personal data or information.

On every computer there is information that could be of value to thieves and criminals. From personal correspondence to saved passwords and logins to banking and shopping sites the unscrupulous can use that information to harm you personally and financially.

To knoe how to ensure that doesn't happen it is important to understand how information is stored on a hard disk drive, what happens with the information when you delete a file or reformat the drive and how you can protect yourself.

A hard disk drive stores information by changing the magnetic structure of a rotating disk. Data is written in a binary code of 1's and 0's. Very tiny parts of the disk drive have a particular magnetic charge to represent those 1's and 0's.

Access to the files on your drive is put into a table which tells the drive where to look for the data that makes up the file. When you delete a file the data is not removed, just the pointer to the data in that file table. Until something else writes to that part of the disk, overwriting the data, the information is still there.

Even formatting a drive doesn't destroy the data. All that is done when you format a hard drive is that the entire file table is rewritten to reflect that the drive is available for new data. The file table, itself, is left mostly intact with some minor changes made to it. When new data is written to the drive after formatting the old data is finally overwritten making it far less accessible.

Since deleting and formatting a drive do not actually remove the data from the drive it is obvious that these steps are not adequate to prevent a committed data thief from stealing your information.

Even more, when the data is overwritten there are still traces of the old data left behind. Just like erasing and rewriting when using a pencil some small bit of the old information is left behind. While it takes very sophisticated equipment to read that data, government agencies and dedicated criminals can still access it.

In order to decrease the chances that your data will be stolen you will need to use a disk wiping program. These programs write over your data on your hard drive and can be set to run over and over making the data, and any trace of it, much harder to access.

To find such programs you can simply do an Internet search for "disk wipe utility". This will bring up a number of results of programs that can effectively eradicate any trace of your old information. Be certain to read reviews on any utilities you wish to use and only run those programs that have a good reputation in the web community. Be certain to set the repetition on the utility to run at least three passes, more are even better.

While it is impossible to completely eliminate all data from your hard drives, properly preparing your drives for disposal can drastically reduce the chances of your privacy being compromised.

Learn more about this author, Keith Hamburger.
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