{"id":341672,"date":"2021-09-20T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-to-wipe-securely-erase-your-devices-before-disposing-of-or-selling-them\/"},"modified":"2021-09-20T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T10:00:00","slug":"how-to-wipe-securely-erase-your-devices-before-disposing-of-or-selling-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-wipe-securely-erase-your-devices-before-disposing-of-or-selling-them\/","title":{"rendered":"#How to Wipe (Securely Erase) Your Devices Before Disposing of or Selling Them"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40dd15d8334\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40dd15d8334\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-wipe-securely-erase-your-devices-before-disposing-of-or-selling-them\/#USB_Drives_External_Hard_Drives_and_SD_Cards\" >USB Drives, External Hard Drives, and SD Cards<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-wipe-securely-erase-your-devices-before-disposing-of-or-selling-them\/#Laptops_Desktops_and_Internal_Hard_Drives\" >Laptops, Desktops, and Internal Hard Drives<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-wipe-securely-erase-your-devices-before-disposing-of-or-selling-them\/#Smartphones_and_Tablets\" >Smartphones and Tablets<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-wipe-securely-erase-your-devices-before-disposing-of-or-selling-them\/#Encryption_Ahead_of_Time_Also_Works\" >Encryption Ahead of Time Also Works<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#How to Wipe (Securely Erase) Your Devices Before Disposing of or Selling Them&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage wp-image-755739 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/shutterstock_195800444.jpg?width=398&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 400w, https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/shutterstock_195800444.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, 400w, 1200w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/shutterstock_195800444.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A hand placing a laptop into a trash can.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/closeup-cropped-portrait-someone-tossing-old-195800444\" data-credittext=\"AshTproductions\/Shutterstock.com\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/closeup-cropped-portrait-someone-tossing-old-195800444\">AshTproductions\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Be sure to wipe your storage drives, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and anything that potentially contained sensitive files before getting rid of it. Whether you\u2019re disposing of it, selling it, or giving it away, you should securely erase your data first.<\/p>\n<p>This is necessary because it\u2019s possible to recover deleted files from many types of drives. Data isn\u2019t always im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely removed from an underlying drive if you delete it in the normal way.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"USB_Drives_External_Hard_Drives_and_SD_Cards\"><\/span>USB Drives, External Hard Drives, and SD Cards<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A wipe process is necessary for\u00a0USB drives and external hard drives. Yes, even though your USB drive contains solid-state flash memory\u2014and even though your external hard drive might contain a proper solid-state drive\u2014you need to keep this in mind.<\/p>\n<p>TRIM isn\u2019t supported via the USB interface, which means someone could potentially recover sensitive files from an old USB drive after you get rid of it.<\/p>\n<p>To wipe an external drive on Windows, you don\u2019t need a special drive-wiping tool. You can just format the drive from within Windows, but you must perform a \u201cfull\u201d format and avoid the \u201cQuick Format\u201d option.<\/p>\n<p>This works on Windows 10, Windows 11, and any other modern version of Windows. Starting with Windows Vista, the Full Format option was changed to always write zeros to the entire drive to ensure data is fully erased.<\/p>\n<p>Bear in mind that solid-state storage only has a limited number of writes.\u00a0This will reduce your drive\u2019s lifespan, especially for cheap flash drives. You wouldn\u2019t want to do this all the time. But, if you\u2019re about to dispose of the drive, that\u2019s fine.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-751664\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/full-format.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Uncheck &quot;Quick Format&quot; and click &quot;Start.&quot;\" width=\"650\" height=\"456\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>On a Mac, open the \u201cDisk Utility\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lication, select the external drive in the list on the left, and click the \u201cErase\u201d button in the toolbar. (You can also right-click the external drive in the list and select \u201cErase.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By default, your Mac will note securely wipe the drive. To change this, click the \u201cSecurity Options\u201d button, drag the slider at least one notch to the right to that the tool says it will write a pass of random data, and then click \u201cOK.\u201d Select a file system for the drive and click the \u201cErase\u201d button to continue.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-755754 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/mac-security-options.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Click and drag the slider to the right in the &quot;Security Options&quot; pane.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Laptops_Desktops_and_Internal_Hard_Drives\"><\/span>Laptops, Desktops, and Internal Hard Drives<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>On a laptop or desktop, your internal hard drives only need to be wiped if they\u2019re mechanical hard drives or hybrid hard drives. When you delete a file on a solid-state drive, the file is automatically wiped from the\u00a0drive due to TRIM\u2014this helps keep your SSD speedy.<\/p>\n<p>The below tricks are only necessary if you\u2019re\u00a0using a mechanical or hybrid hard drive. Don\u2019t do this for solid-state drives \u2014 it\u2019s both a waste of time and will cause unnecessary wear to the SSD.<\/p>\n<p>On Windows 10 or 11, you can simply choose to \u201cReset\u201d your PC and tell Windows to \u201cclean\u201d the drive during the process. This wipes the drive, will ensure none of your files can be recovered later.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-751671\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/clean-data.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Enable &quot;Clean Data?&quot;.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Recover a Deleted File: The Ultimate Guide<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re using Windows 7, Linux, or another operating system, you can boot your computer from a tool like <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.dban.org\/\">DBAN<\/a>. This tool will boot up and erase your computer\u2019s hard drives, overwriting them with random data. You\u2019ll have to reinstall Windows or Linux afterward before anyone\u00a0can use the\u00a0computer again, of course.<\/p>\n<p>Just a single wipe pass should do it.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-213298\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/dban.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>On a Mac with a mechanical hard drive, you can boot into Recovery Mode and use the Disk Utility application to erase the hard drive before reinstalling macOS.<\/p>\n<p>However, you probably don\u2019t have to do this. Your Mac uses File Vault encryption by default, so reinstalling macOS will ensure the encryption key is removed and any scraps of files can\u2019t be recovered. However, if you disabled File Vault encryption, wiping your drive in this way is a good idea.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Smartphones_and_Tablets\"><\/span>Smartphones and Tablets<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Apple\u2019s iPhones and iPads use encryption, which means you can just reset them\u00a0the \u201cErase All Content and Settings\u201d option under Settings &gt; <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a> &gt; Reset. After doing so, your personal data will be inaccessible. Any fragments of data are\u00a0stored on the device in encrypted form, and no one can access them.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-755763 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/erase-all.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Tap &quot;Erase All Content and Settings&quot; on an iPhone.\" width=\"650\" height=\"375\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Modern Android phones also use encryption by default. You can restore your Android device to factory settings to wipe your data.<\/p>\n<p>Because the data stored on the device was encrypted before you performed the factory reset, the data stored on the device will be scrambled and incomprehensible.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Encryption_Ahead_of_Time_Also_Works\"><\/span>Encryption Ahead of Time Also Works<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You could also just\u00a0enable full-disk encryption ahead of time. When you use encryption, your data can\u2019t be recovered without your encryption passphrase. Any bits of leftover data and other files will be on the drive in an encrypted, scrambled state. People using data forensics software won\u2019t be able to pick out any fragments of data.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Chromebooks always use\u00a0encryption, so simply performing a factory reset will ensure your data isn\u2019t accessible.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>If you have a CD or DVD you want to remove sensitive files from, you can erase it if it\u2019s rewriteable. Otherwise, be sure to physically destroy the CDs or DVDs before disposing of them. This could mean grabbing a pair of scissors and cutting them into one or more parts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/213295\/how-to-wipe-securely-erase-your-devices-before-disposing-of-or-selling-them\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#How to Wipe (Securely Erase) Your Devices Before Disposing of or Selling Them&#8221; AshTproductions\/Shutterstock.com Be sure to wipe your storage drives, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and anything that potentially contained sensitive files before getting rid of it. Whether you\u2019re disposing of it, selling it, or giving it away, you should securely erase your data first. This&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":341673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/shutterstock_195800444.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-341672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}