Restoring laptops and desktops to their original settings is accomplished easily enough. Many different types of software applications are available to assist computer users with this task.

Why Erase All Data from the Hard Drive

Since a great deal of sensitive data is often stored on a hard drive, it is important to remove it when you no longer need the data. Simply deleting files does not remove all traces of them. In fact, the data remains on the hard drive until that sector has been overwritten with new data. Additionally, too much data on the hard drive can slow down the performance of your computer.

Will Reformatting the Hard Drive Wipe It Completely Clean?

Unfortunately, technology has evolved in such a way that special software applications now exist that can restore data to its original state. Therefore, simply reformatting your hard drive will not be sufficient. That is why it is important to purchase special software that will remove the data completely from your hard drive. Rewriting the hard drive with random data, these applications destroy the potential for the original data to be retrieved.

Software to Completely Wipe Hard Drive Clean

Numerous software programs are on the market that are designed to wipe your hard drive completely clean. Which one you purchase is a simple matter of selecting one either by price, recommendation, or system requirements.

Norton’s SystemWorks includes a program, Wipe Info that is designed to clean the hard drive completely. OnTrack features its DataErase, which is designed for permanent data deletion.

Additionally, Privacy Controls, an application that is offered by ParetoLogic, is designed to erase all user tracks as well as shred data that you choose to shred. It features an ultimate file shredder that will provide a clean hard drive disk. For more information, visit the following link; Privacy Controls. Plus, free updates and support are part of the package.

How Can I Be Sure the Data Is Really Gone?

If you are a bit wary as to the validity of the claims that your data is truly missing, you can always conduct a search for the information with a reliable data recovery program. In fact, offers a free scan that will show you whether any data remains on your computer for retrieval. You can access one such program form ParetoLogic at the following link: Data Recovery.

Additional Points

It is important to ensure that any application you purchase is compatible with your operating system. This information should be visible in the details displayed online if you purchase a product from a web site. Additionally, the packaging of a product should include the system requirements in a clearly visible location. In the event that you do have files on the hard drive that you would like to retain, back this data up by copying it to a CD, floppy, or peripheral storage device.

Let’s face it, teenagers probably know more about computers than us parents can ever hope to know. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t take a few steps to make it more difficult. First, let’s address the issue of Safe Mode and then we’ll go from there.

Safe Mode is a horrible way to use a computer in general so I can only assume he’s using Safe Mode to snoop around and view files. Otherwise, with its low resolution screen and limited device drivers, Safe Mode isn’t much fun. Now, you can password protect Safe Mode in Windows XP if you want. Doing so involves booting into Safe Mode and then clicking Run and typing control userpasswords. From there, pick Administrator and click on Change my password. Now, you’ll need to create and confirm your password. Beware, if you forget this password and ever need to troubleshoot your PC in Safe Mode, you’ll have a bear of a time. Make absolute sure you will remember the password!

Now, that that’s out of the way, you may want to install some sort of parental controls software on your teen’s computer as well as your own. If your teen has a computer, try PGSurfer from Paretologic Software. This is a completely free program that will give you greater control over how your teen uses the computer. Rather than completely restricting computer access, you can control it. If you have Windows Vista, you can also use the built-in Parental Controls utility to restrict how the computer is used by specific user.

Another option is to physically secure your computer. A variety of products are available for locking your computer including tower lockers and laptop locks. If these aren’t options or are cost-prohibitive depending on the type of computer setup you have, you might even install door locks on the room.

By adding a password to Safe Mode, installing parental control software, and physically securing your computer, you stand half a chance against having your privacy invaded by your teenager.

Well, for one thing, they aren’t yummy and delicious. Internet cookies are tiny files that are designed to make your user experience a bit friendlier. For example, if you regularly visit a clothing Web site and have created your own “virtual model” for trying on clothes and seeing how they might look on you before you buy, then you wouldn’t want to go through the hassle of recreating this model, complete with measurements, weight, and personal characteristics each time you visited the site, right?

A cookie solves that for you. This tiny file resides on your computer. The next time you visit the Web site, the cookie allows all of your preferences to be displayed on the Web site. This includes personal preferences as well as data that you’ve previously supplied such as credit card information, phone numbers, and addresses. In addition, the cookie tells the Web site owner a bit about your computer such as what your IP address is, browser type, and where you came from (such as a referral source).

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Another type of cookie involves advertising. Web sites regularly feature advertisements. These advertisements place tracking cookies on your computer and are not designed with your convenience in mind. Instead, these advertisements are often part of a huge network of ads. Your single cookie with its own unique identifier is recorded any time you land on a Web site that also uses the advertising network. For example, let’s say you visit twenty web sites, fifteen of which participate in this advertising network. The advertising network knows that you visited these fifteen different websites.

So what? Over time, the advertiser builds a database of your interests based on the types of sites you visit. From this information, the advertiser makes assumptions about your Internet habits and interests and begins serving up targeted advertisements. Privacy concerns surround this type of cookie usage.

Fortunately, your Web browser has settings for accepting or rejecting cookies as well as an area where you can delete cookies. To adjust cookie settings in Internet Explorer, go to Tools, Internet Options, and click on the Privacy tab. From here, you can adjust how your browser deals with cookies. To delete existing cookies, go to the General tab, Browsing History, Delete, Delete Cookies.

Internet cookies have their good and bad points. They’re great for personalized Web site experiences but terrible when used to track surfing behaviors. Set your computer’s Web browser up so that you have adequate protection against the bad cookies and yet can still enjoy returning to legitimate Web sites. Periodically delete all cookies from your computer.

People delete all of the files on a hard drive for a variety of reasons, one of which is to ensure their privacy when donating or recycling their old computers. This has become essential as identity thieves can easily extract data off of hard drives - even hard drives that have been reformatted. Why is it so easy? Because data recovery tools, those same tools that enable us to recover accidentally deleted files, are readily available. These tools go beyond the drive’s index, which is what actually gets deleted, to the actual files - which don’t get deleted until a new file is written to that same space on the drive.

For example, did you know that when you format a hard drive, you’re not erasing the data residing on it? Essentially, formatting simply removes the drive’s master indexes and reference tables and replaces them with new, empty ones. The data remains but is considered to be “free space” by the operating system. In other words, the operating system considers the disk empty and will eventually place new data over the existing data as needed. With data recovery tools, you can go in and recover the underlying data until it has been overwritten. If the average computer user can do this easily enough, imagine how easy it is for identity thieves?

In order to completely delete the files on the hard drive, you need to use a tool designed for the task. Often called disk “shredders” or “erasers,” software programs have been developed that “shred” the contents of your hard drive. This isn’t in the literal sense; rather, the software goes in and overwrites the data with meaningless files several times over. You may see terms such as “secure deletion” and “government grade deletion” used to describe this process. So long as the software overwrites the drive multiple times, the contents are likely unrecoverable. The more times the drive is overwritten, the more secure the deletion.

Several products are on the market specifically for wiping the drive clean such as DataEraser. In addition, secure deletion is often an added feature to other software programs. For example, ParetoLogic’s Privacy Controls is a utility that offers several privacy protection features, one of which is a secure deletion option where you can specify specific files for deletion.

Depending on your needs, you have several options. If you’ll be donating the computer to a friend or relative, a complete reformatting followed by wiping the drive clean is an excellent choice. This way, your data has been removed and the new user will have a fresh operating system that is free of clutter and unwanted programs. The downside is that this involves a bit of work on your part and the computer’s operating system will need to be updated with the latest security patches, updates, and service packs.

Another option is to selectively delete your data files using a secure deletion utility. When selectively deleting, don’t overlook all those “hidden” files such as your temporary files, index.dat files, browser history files, data in folders you may have forgotten about, and so on.

Finally, if you are recycling the computer, you may want to wipe the drive clean, physically dismantle the drive, and then destroy the inner workings of the disc itself. While taking a sledgehammer to the drive seems extreme, it’s an added measure you can take to keep your data private.

Phishing is a practice used by unscrupulous people in an attempt to obtain sensitive, personal data from unsuspecting individuals. The type of information that these thieves try to get includes social security numbers, credit card account numbers, bank account numbers and more. They might even attempt to steal usernames and passwords so that they can gain access to various online accounts. Phishing scams generally steal this information so that they can use it to create new credit accounts or take out loans.

Phishing scams often take on the appearance of emails or pop up windows that are quite similar in appearance to some of the trusted websites that you visit. Any links included within the email will direct the individual to a fake website. The best opportunity you have to protect yourself from phishing scams is to understand the signs and to guard against them.

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Most phishing emails will not include either your first or last name. Usually these emails are sent out in bulk so it is much easier to exclude names.

Another tip off is that many phishing scams ask the individual to verify their account. In order to do this, you will be asked to submit certain sensitive data such as your log in, password, account number, or social security number.

Many phishing emails will also include a “threat” that your account will be closed immediately or you will lose all of your assets if you do not respond within a specified amount of time. These messages are designed to get people to react quickly and without thinking.

Plus, some phishing emails direct you to click the links within them. If you hover over the link instead of clicking it, you should be able to see the true web address. In the case of a phishing scam, you will see a string of numbers or words that do not resemble the true company’s name.

To protect yourself even more fully, purchase and install up-to-date antispyware and antivirus applications. Each of these is designed to recognize and do away with malicious programs. Filetonic offers a number of programs that can scan and protect your computer from the unwanted spyware, adware, and viruses that sometimes come along with phishing scams. Install one of these programs to provide yourself with the protection you need.

If you use Internet Explorer as your browser, make sure that you install the latest version to get the best level of protection against phishing scams. In fact, you can use a particular feature of Internet Explorer,Phishing Filter (found in the Tools menu), to protect yourself against phishing scams. This program is designed with a built in filter to scan web addresses in order to identify potentially harmful ones. These websites will be blocked from your browser. It also includes an online service that provides hourly updates on newly developed phishing websites. Plus, you can report any suspicious websites or emails directly to Microsoft. You can also report phishing scams to the DTC helpline at 1-877-FTC-HELP.

Web sites often employ a number of techniques to gather information about their visitors. In some cases, this information is used to customize your browsing experience; in others, it’s used so that the Web site’s developers can analyze the different types of visitors to their sites. In other cases, information is used for unscrupulous purposes. By collecting IP addresses, a Web site developer can see where visitors are coming from geographically (yes, your IP address reveals a general geographic location) as well as what operating systems, browsers, and other computer tools are being used. Other information gathered can include where you came from and where you went after visiting the Web site.

You’ve probably heard of cookies, right? Web beacons are often used alongside cookies to monitor the Web site’s usage. However, Web beacons are also quite different from cookies. For example, you can set your computer’s browser to flat out refuse cookies if you so desire but you are nearly defenseless against Web beacons. Web beacons are placed on both Web sites and e-mail messages as tiny, nearly imperceptible images. Since they are actually graphical elements of the Web page or e-mail message itself, they aren’t detected by standard means such as anti-spyware applications. After all, they are simply tiny images.

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Before we get into what Web beacons do, let’s look at how they appear on a Web site or within an e-mail message. Can you spot a 1 pixel image of a white dot on this page? Not likely - even if you were actually looking. Web beacons often take the form of just such an image and become virtually invisible.

Like most images on Web pages, the actual image file is hosted on a server. When you land on a page with an image, your computer must connect to the server and retrieve the image file. This happens seamlessly whenever you visit Web sites with images. However, when your computer connects to the server to download the image, it then communicates information to the server, which is readily retrievable by the Web master or spammer. This communication confirms activity. It lets the server know that a web site has been visited or an e-mail opened.

When Web beacons are used on Web pages, third parties can monitor and track the Web site’s activities. If you turn off cookies in your browser, you can prevent the tracking of your personal activity though the Web site will still be able to detect an anonymous visit.

When Web beacons are used in e-mail messages, they effectively tell the spammer that an e-mail message has been opened - which then confirms that the spammer has a good e-mail address that is actively being used by a real person. Why would spammers want this confirmation? By confirming that live eyeballs are checking the messages for a particular e-mail address, spammers know they have a hot target. Web beacons in e-mail messages are undetectable to you, but once the e-mail is opened, the server hosting the image is accessed, and your e-mail address has been confirmed as being a hot one.

Fortunately, many e-mail applications are on to the Web beacon scheme, which is why your e-mail program likely no longer displays included images. If you receive an HTML e-mail and see only red Xs where you would’ve expected images, then your e-mail program has most likely blocked images specifically to prevent the connection to the third party server. If you trust the sender, then you can unblock the images and view them in their full glory. If you have no idea who is sending you unsolicited e-mail, don’t unblock the images. Otherwise, you’ll confirm that you’re a live target.