In response to the Which? Computing advice given on smashing up your hard drive with a hammer in order to protect data, data security firm Acronis says this is nothing but a rash and thoughtless action.
General manager Kevin Moreau says that doing this is not only expensive but also environmentally damaging and completely unnecessary.
According to Acronis, taking a hammer to your hard drive is completely ridiculous, as it believes this advice completely glosses over the fact that there is ultra-effective disk cleansing software readily available to the consumer.
Disc cleansing is the most effective way of destroying data. It is not only used by the general public and businesses but also to destroy highly confidential data in the government.
“In the current economic climate, individuals and business across the UK are choosing to re-use, re-cycle or donate older laptops. Using this approach means that laptops or PCs can be safely passed onto a new colleague, sold to a third-party, or donated to a charity such as Computers for Africa,”
By taking the Which? hands-on destructive method, you are not only stopping all the benefits of second-hand hardware, but also costing yourself a lot more money.
There are benefits of recycling your hardware. Smashing it up would only cause more problems as you have to follow strict international guidelines (WEEE) when dumping old hardware.
“Even if it is marginally cheaper it’s not a ‘green’ recommendation since it goes against the idea of recycling hardware,”
So it seems that although perhaps more fun, smashing your hard drive into smithereens is clearly not the best option. So put that toolbox away for a while.
