There are many different data destruction methods out there, but one must first consider why and how they want this data destroyed. If you are reselling a computer, you will probably want to wipe the hard drive clean (and NO, formatting a hard drive will NOT wipe all, actually almost no data at all, from the storage device), and reinstall the OS to sell the computer. If you are a business, you will probably want to destroy the data to reuse the drive, or resell the drive. Large corporations and Government agencies, however, prefer to wipe the data (8x) from the drives, and then physically destroy the hard drive, and finally incinerating the hard drive’s contents.

Divorces: This is by far our largest request for both recovery and destruction. A person who is going through a divorce needs to either cover his/her tracks, or bring evidence to light. Either way, destruction comes in many shapes and sizes, as does data recovery.

CompuTechs+ of Chicago uses the most advanced DoD (Department of Defense) standards for data destruction. CompuTechs+ of Chicago also supports emergency destruction, in case you need to destroy data manually, and fast. Depending on your circumstance, we have many different data destruction options available. The destruction method CompuTechs+ wipes the drive clean 8x (per destruction), with a random array of values. This means that your data is gone for good. We also support physical damage & destruction as well as incineration.

As always, it depends and well, doesn’t depend on a few things. Can you afford a new computer? How old is your current computer? Well, Chicago’s CompuTechs+ will tell you why these questions don’t really matter. Unless your computer is old (lets say, more than 7-8 years old), it should still be worth quite a bit of money.  Regardless if you want a new computer, or simply want to repair the old laptop or computer, a decent used computer or laptop will sell for at least $200 or so if everything is in working order. Apple computers and mac laptops always hold their value longer – And that can affect your buying decisions.

The reason to upgrade is simple: RAM (computer memory) and computer or laptop hard drives are cheap. Typical RAM prices are $20-45 per gigabyte (GB), and hard drive prices are about $0.37/GB (laptop hard drives, or 2.5″ hard drives) to $0.14/GB (desktop hard drives, or 3.5″ hard drives) — Equivalent to $59.99 for a 160GB 2.5″ SATA laptop hard drive and $69.99 for a 500GB 3.5″ SATA computer hard drive. These prices are universal for Apple computers or Apple laptops as well.

What this means for you: For (typically) less than $100 or so, you can upgrade your computer with a larger, faster hard drive (with a 3-5 year warranty, meaning more reliability and security for your computer data), as well as increase the computer RAM (computer memory), which means you will be able to have more programs open at once without slowing the computer down. This not only extends the life of your machine, it also increases it’s value once it’s time to finally purchase a new computer or laptop.

Basically, we recommend upgrading for a few reasons…

• Extends the life of your computer or laptop
• Increases the value of your computer (for resale) – But usually only 50% of the cost of the parts will increase that value
• A newly reinstalled computer OS (Operating System)  =  all of your old data still remains on the original hard drive (providing privacy and security)
• Increase the speed of your computer or laptop on a budget
• Increase the capacity of your computer or laptop on a budget

Our next blog will include instuctions and information on how to securely and properly wipe the data off of a hard drive (if you ever plan on selling your computer or laptop).  Formatting doesn’t erase data (it just flags the data as ‘ok’ to delete, and it remains intact on your hard drive. Our method wipes over your computer data multiple times substituting  random 1’s and 0’s, rendering data recovery almost useless using any method — And it deletes each and every file on the drive, and takes an average of 8 hours to complete on a machine with ‘decent’ computing speed.

Unfortunately, when our computer repair technicians here in Chicago hear those words, it’s probably too late & a data recovery attempt must be made on the hard drive. So how do you perform an easy, automated data backup? It’s simple and best of all: FREE. Now, there is no excuse for not having backed up your data because it’s Chicago’s free automatic data recovery service.

CompuTechs+ of Chicago recommends Mozy remote data backups for a few reasons:

1. It’s safe. Your data is encrypted using 448-bit Blowfish encryption. (i.e. Your data is kept very private, only you will be able to view/restore it)
2. It’s remote. So your data is protected in case of a catastrophe. External hard drives are great, but what happens when a fire, flood, or accidental drop occurs? Chicago can be crazy sometimes.
3. It’s free. Do I really need to explain this? Free as in ‘no credit-card needed’ free.  The only ‘catch’ is that you are limited to 2GB of data backup, which is sufficient for a lot of the crucial items (such as documents, spreadsheets, powerpoint presentations and the like). For example, if you backed up only average-sized Microsoft Word Documents, lets say 50KB each, your free 2GB data backup would be able to store over 40,000 documents!
4. Automatic or Scheduled Data Backups: Have your backups performed while the computer is idle, or schedule a convenient time as well.
5. You decide what is backed up.  Backup your Desktop, My Documents, or everything. You make the call.

Lets start the CompuTechs+ of Chicago auto-data-backup process. What kind of computer do you have? Click below:

PC Data BackupsApple Data Backups

Now, before we begin, you must make a decision. If you need more than 2GB of backup space, no worries. Mozy Home Edition as well, and it’s CHEAP. How much? $5 per month. That’s it for Unlimited Data Backups. Please keep in mind that while this service is unlimited, the backup will be limited by your high-speed internet connection’s upload speed. CompuTechs+ would recommend that you backup everything except for downloaded movies (not that you would do a thing like that, now would you?). Click on your preferred Mozy version, free or home:

    

After signing up for your account and installing the software, setup is quite simple. Just select the data that you would like to backup, and then start enjoying your peace of mind, for free.