Recycle old equipment: delete data before

Discarded equipment belongs to recycling. Personal entries and sensitive information should first be deleted in a secure manner.

No matter whether mobile phone, smartphone, tablet or PC with hard drive ?? Anyone who scraps or resells a servile electronic mind with stored data should first delete personal records and sensitive information in a secure manner so that private documents, photos or even passwords do not fall into the wrong hands. So you can be a useful service to yourself and the environment, if you resell the disused electronic devices or brings to proper recycling. Because a mobile phone contains many noble metals: Among other things, 250 milligrams of silver, 24 milligrams of gold and 9 grams of copper. The extraction of these valuable and sometimes rare metals from old equipment is therefore an important source of raw materials, which is still far too little used.

Delete data on the soft tour

If sensitive personal data, such as addresses, medical records or vacation photos, are stored on old devices that hold a data carrier, they should be physically deleted before the devices are transferred. In this procedure, recommended by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the stored data is overwritten several times. This time-consuming procedure makes data recovery impossible. Corresponding shredder software for the physical deletion is called, for example, eraser, wiper or shredder and is usually offered for free download on the Internet – also as an app for smartphones.

Memory cards from cell phones or digital cameras usually need to be removed and deleted using a card reader and PC program. For non-removable memory cards in smartphones, there are special apps for download. Anyone who is unsure about how the data is deleted or where the memory card is hidden at all, should ask a computer-savvy acquaintance.

A selection of delete programs is obtained with the search words "physically delete program". Some providers of mobile phone collections or even old electronic devices promise a secure data deletion. Since this can not be understood by the consumer, it is advisable to remove the data yourself before safely. A review of Stiftung Warentest found that factory reset on both Apple and Android smartphones wipes private data in internal memory to the point where it is virtually unrecoverable.

For highly sensitive information, mechanical destruction of the data carrier by shredding is recommended. This is done by companies that also destroy files.

Safe in the repair

If a device has to be repaired, many service providers offer a data backup as well. However, users play it safe if they back up their data as a copy, such as an external hard drive, and delete it on the device before it is repaired. For smartphones and tablets, the backup of data on a desktop computer or laptop offers.

Proper disposal of old devices and data carriers

Defective hard disks, memory sticks and Co. may not migrate into the residual waste. They belong in the electronic waste, which is accepted at recycling centers. Special case Silberlinge: CDs and DVDs do not count as electronic waste. Collecting boxes are often available for discarded discs in electronics stores or they can also be dispensed separately at the recycling center. If CDs and DVDs contain sensitive data, their reading should also be rendered impossible before disposal. For discs, there are special destroyers in the trade ?? similar to shredders. But anyone who processes the reading surface of CDs and DVDs with sandpaper can also be sure that their data can no longer be read out.

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