How to prep your old computer for recycling or donation
Q: Would you please tell me in simple terms how to erase the hard drive on my HP computer? I would like to donate it or recycle it and do not want to leave any data on it.
A: If you are planning to donate the computer, your best option would be to use the recovery software for the computer to reset it back to the way it was when you first bought it.
This will not only erase your data from the computer, it will also make the computer usable by the next person who owns it.
Most computer manufacturers provide a way to reset a computer, so check your documentation.
If you’re just looking to send the computer to the recyclers, then wiping the disk clean is a good option. I recommend Darik’s Boot and Nuke, also known as DBAN from dban.org.
With DBAN you simply make a bootable CD/DVD or USB that you will use to book the computer and then run the commands to erase everything.
You can find instructions on how to download and use DBAN at tinyurl.com/helplinedbanhowto.
Q: Today I received an email that purported to be from a friend of mine. My friend passed away more than two years ago. What is this about? What would happen if I answered it?
A: This message, as you probably surmised, is fraudulent. Someone has either compromised your friend’s account or is simply impersonating them.
The fact that they know that you are one of their contacts points to the account being hacked and that they have access to your friend’s address book.
The scammers just send a message to all contacts hoping for a response. If you do respond, they will follow up with some kind of story about needing money or gift cards or some other nonsense in an attempt to separate you from your hard-earned cash.
I sometimes get email messages at helpline@chron.com from scammers pretending to be someone I know because an unfortunate reader has had their account compromised and I am in their contact list.
The best thing to do is ignore the message and delete it.
If it’s any consolation, I’m relatively certain that the scammers do not know that the person they are impersonating has passed away.