Last Week we covered How to Dispose of Your Computer Without Sacrificing Your Privacy and since it was a smashing success we decided to cover how you can discard your tablet without sacrificing your privacy. Enjoy
Though tablets are relatively new to the electronic world, we have been inundated with newer versions that we may consider discarding our old ones. But before you go and throw your old tablet into the trash, there are a few things you need to know.
1. Your tablet contains too much personal information.
You may not have thought about it, but your tablet has a great deal of your personal information. You may have apps that lead to your email or your bank accounts, and you have the names, phone numbers and addresses of your friends and family. If you simply throw your tablet in the trash, you could be putting this information in the hands of criminals.
2. Discarded tablets are the new form of identity theft.
Criminals used to steal your identity by stealing your wallet or your mail, but they don’t need to do this anymore. Instead, they are now taking discarded tablets and pulling the personal information from those that were not properly erased. Having this information is much easier to steal someone’s identity than a piece of mail, because now they have your bank account numbers, your friends and family’s contact information, your contact information as well as a slew of other important pieces of info they need to become you.
3. Completely erasing a tablet is harder than you think.
Some people think that deleting apps or erasing pictures from their tablet will clean it out, but this isn’t true. Tablets contain hard drives, and all of your information is also embedded onto the hard drive, not just the files and folders you see on screen.
Most tablets have a function that allows a user to erase information on the phone, but this usually doesn’t do the best job or erase everything. If you want to erase your tablet, you need to invest in software that will completely dismantle the hard drive and all information. This software will wipe your hard drive clean and replace information with binary code so that it cannot be recovered.
4. You can’t throw a tablet away.
The metal and plastic that makes up a tablet as well as the acid from the batteries are not good for the environment. Because of this, many states and/or local governments have implemented laws against throwing electronic devices in the trash. Instead, electronics need to be given to dedicated recycling facilities who will discard of it properly. It is important to note that these facilities will not erase your tablet, so before dropping it off, you need to erase it yourself.
5. When all else fails, destroy it.
If you are paranoid that the erasing software you used wasn’t good enough, there is another way you can guarantee your information won’t be pulled from your tablet, and that is to destroy it. Break it however you can and ensure that the hard drive is unusable. This will ensure nobody will have access to your information. Plus, it may be a good stress reliever.
If you have an unused tablet that you want to get rid of, make sure that you take all the necessary steps to remove your information from it. Don’t let your personal information fall into the wrong hands because you were irresponsible.
Andreas Svensson is a Swedish-born IT specialist with a knack for writing about electronics. He is a grammar fanatic and often writes with a grammar checker to ensure his work is professional, clear, and mistake-free. Grammar rules are often difficult to learn and he is grateful to have a checker to fall back on.
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