Olympic Moments Not Going to Waste
Jul 29
The Tokyo 2020 Games are putting the Metal to the Medal! The most successful Olympic & Paralympic athletes won’t only take home something tangible to preserve the memory in a bronze, silver or gold medal, but they’ll be helping impact the growing environmental problem of e-waste.
On the E-Waste Case: USA Today #TechTip
May 31
In an article about recycling devices and the challenges of e-waste, USA Today mentioned a good tech tip about data erasure to protect your privacy.
Study: Wide Array of Private Data on Secondhand Drives, a Reminder to Discard With Discretion
Oct 15
Researchers at the University of Hertfordshire performed a study examining secondhand hard disk drives and found they often contained data from their previous owners.
Interview: Talking Tech on Tech Talk Radio with Marc Saltzman
Jan 7
The first Tech Talk radio show of the year with Marc Saltzman featured CBL talking about data recovery, hard drive tips, data deletion and more.
Art Exhibit Focuses on E-Waste Data Dangers
Jun 6
A duo of artists known as KairUs curious about private data breaches and e-waste created an exhibition of artworks entitled “Forensic Fantasies”. Highlighting some key issues and effects related to e-waste dumps in places like Ghana, a topic we’ve covered before, they look at some interesting intersections of technology, the environment, and society.
How to Demolish Old Hard Drive Data (keeping your data safe, the logical way)
Mar 24
If you have a computer that you are getting rid of you need to take special care of the data you have stored inside it. Whatever information you have saved on the hard drive inside: photos, documents, financial files, passwords, emails — personal information, does not simply go away if you hit delete or drop stuff in the Recycle Bin.
Ben Popken at NBC did a video showing some low-tech solutions to this problem. He trashes hard drives with everything from hammers and baseball bats, to submerging in water and burning with fire. Watch the video after the jump.
Data Safety Archive: Photocopiers Potential Security Risk
Mar 27
Ever thought about all the information that passes through your office copy machine? Here’s a good look at one place where the security of your personal information is threatened.
Electronics Recycling in Ontario - E-Cycling!
Jul 12
The mountain of electronics we have and eventually need to get rid of is always growing. The need to dispose of old electronics like cellphones and tvs as well as computer hardware in laptops and desktops shows no sign of slowing. But that does present some challenges with regards to how to minimize the amount of e-waste we produce as well as the impact and threat to sensitive information.
The movement to promote E-cycling is strong in Ontario, Canada.
Check out this promo video about drop-off locations:
When you drop-off an old computer for e-cycling, what information is still on the hard drive inside it? We made CBL Data Shredder for this sole purpose. Keep reading to find out more.
E-Waste Recycling up 53 Percent - Remember to Wipe those Drives
Apr 19
Good news this week comes in an update from the Consumer Electronics Association on their ‘eCycling’ initiative reporting a big increase in electronics recycling – up 53% in the past year! Are you one of the growing number of people that are seeking out drop-off locations for used computers and electronics? Be reminded that you should wipe any hard drive before discarding or recycling it to protect yourself from any potential privacy threats or criminal activity.
Clip: CBL Data Shredder - Costco Tech Connection
Feb 8
The only thing we love almost as much as getting back our customers’ data is preventing it from falling into the wrong hands. The privacy of your information and importance of protecting data is a crucial part of what we do and of our digital society today. Getting rid of old hardware is one challenge, but what about the files and data stored on computers? Friend of Platter Chatter and tech reporter extraordinaire, Marc Saltzman, recently highlighted some key points about safely deleting data in Costco Connection magazine.
Canadian Privacy audit finds breach at Staples: laptops resold with customer data
Jun 21
Staples Business Depot, the office supplies store chain, was fingered by the office of Canada’s Privacy Commissioner in a recent report. The report details findings that Staples was reselling returned laptops and digital devices without properly wiping customer data off them.
New Jersey Hard Drive Data Security Breach A Reminder to Us All
Mar 11
When the State of New Jersey was preparing to put a bunch of old computer equpiment up for auction to the public, it didn’t realize it was about to auction off the private data of members of that public. State Comptroller Matthew Boxer was reviewing the sale of hundreds of computers that is a usual occurrence in the state office when he discovered that the “hard drives in 79% of the machines had tons of private data on them” still! The sale was stopped thanks to the auditor’s investigation, but there is little doubt that the state had already been selling computers with confidential data on them for some time.
Your Privacy: How Safe Is Your Data? (Part 5)
Feb 15
While the cost of a new computer or laptop continues to fall, we truly are almost in an age when these former room-sized giants are now disposable. When last year’s speed-demon is today’s dinosaur, and the cost and hassle of upgrading and updating is on par with simply buying new, what happens to your beloved old digital friend?
(Part 5 of our series on Data Safety)
Worrying About Your Data
Aug 18
More and more computer users are becoming aware of a growing amount of data privacy issues around us. Protecting your personal data should be a top priority given the alarming increase in identity theft. This is leading people to worrying about what happens to their personal information and who’s hands it can fall into. CBL offers some tips and options for securely disposing of old storage devices.
