Computer Aid isn't a big fan of smashing up hard drives, either

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It would be an understatement to say that I wasn’t a big fan of Which?’s suggestion that you safeguard your personal data by hitting it with a big hammer, and it turns out that Computer Aid agrees. Computer Aid is a charity which refurbishes old and unwanted computer equipment for the third world.

Instead, the charity wants you to opt for safe, environmentally-friendly alternatives when disposing of IT equipment. They also recommend a data erasing program over total destruction, though it’s the paid-for Blancco.

Of course, what they really want you to do is give the old equipment to them, promising that any data you leave will be wiped clean before it’s reused. A much better solution than a claw hammer, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Computer Aid

Related posts: Which? magazine’s solution to data privacy – a big hammer | Security watchdog the ICO is currently looking at 277 “data breaches” in the UK

BLOG ACTION DAY 2008: Mobile Phone use in developing countries

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To coincide with Blog Action Day 2008, which is themed around poverty, I thought it’d be interesting to example the use of mobile phones in the developing world. To us in the western world a computer is something that sits on your lap or desk with a 14″ display, but many people in less economically developed countries interact with the internet in a very different way – through a mobile phone…

Google bored of having money – donating $175m to various charities

google-charity-donations.jpgThe piles of cash everywhere at Google HQ are getting a bit too much. Some office doors won’t even open any more, and there’s no cupboard space left for essentials like pens and envelopes thanks to all the bundles of fifties wedged in every cabinet.

That’s why (in one possible dimension) Google has revealed it’s throwing $175 million into helping fight global infection outbreaks – by developing new computer systems…