Importance of Wiping Data Before Recycling Your Electronics

It seems that as soon as you get a new smartphone or mobile device they are coming out with a new one. So you want to upgrade as soon as possible, but what happens to your old phone? Same things goes for that old laptop computer or desk top once you get a new one.

More than likely it sits in a drawer or on a shelf collecting dust before you finally decided to either recycle or donate it. Have you taken all the steps you need to make sure that your important information is off of that phone or computer before you officially part ways, or have you left photos, text messages and apps there for the next person to see?

While most of us want to get rid of our old phones and electronic devices in the proper way, we probably aren’t making sure that our personal information is secure before doing so.

What you should do? The best course of answer is to perform a factory reset to make sure that everything is all clear before you say your final goodbyes. A study in England by IT Pro found that 41 percent of people in England recycled their phones in 2013 but only about 20 percent performed a factory reset.

That same study said that a factory reset will prevent a second hand user from accessing your data, but it won’t keep a “determined hacker” from getting their hands old data.

Besides a factory reset, a remote whip could make a world of difference for mobile devices (phones and tablets) and data deconstruction can help keep your old information out of the wrong hands when it comes to computers.

ProTek offers a few methods of data deconstruction to make sure that all of your previous information stays private even after you get rid of your old products.