Degaussing vs Hard Drive Shredding

THIS MONTH, LEGAL SHRED IS LOOKING AT THE BENEFITS OF DEGAUSSING vs HARD DRIVE SHREDDING AND WHICH IS THE SAFEST, MOST SECURE WAY TO ENSURE THAT YOUR OLD AND OBSOLETE HARD DRIVES ARE RENDERED UNUSABLE.

In the age of technology where we store vast amounts of personal, confidential, or even classified information on electronic storage devices, there is an ever increasing danger of that information being compromised.  Data, no matter how it’s stored, is always at risk. For old hard drives, knowing how and when to dispose of them makes all the difference in identity and data protection.  There are many methods to securing and destroying information stored on hard drives, but not all are created equal.  What is the difference between Degaussing vs Hard Drive Shredding. How does degaussing compare to total hard drive destruction?

Degaussing Hard Drives

The data on your hard drive is stored magnetically.  The reason why magnetism is used in computer storage is because it goes on storing information even when the power is switched off. Objects that are magnetized will remain that way until you demagnetize, or degauss it.

Degaussing is achieved by passing the magnetic media through a powerful magnetic field to rearrange the polarity of the particles, thus completely removing any likeness of the previously recorded data. It renders any and all previous data unrecoverable.

Pros: A degausser is good if you want to completely erase all audio, video and data signals from the magnetic storage.

Cons: Degaussing is not entirely fool-proof.  It can only be used on magnetic media, and there is no way to guarantee that a particular degaussing machine is strong enough to destroy all the data on every hard drive.  Also, degaussing does not provide reporting of the erasure process, which is needed to prove regulatory compliance.  Most IT professionals will tell you that degaussing or wiping hard drives is no longer an acceptable method for complete, secure destruction of stored data.

Total Hard Drive Destruction

The best and most secure method of rendering hard drive information completely unusable is to completely destroy it through hard drive shredding. Hard drive shredding works similarly to how paper documents are destroyed, except it is the hard drive that is being shredded into unusable pieces. Data is impossible to retrieve once it has been pulverized.

The benefit of hiring an on-site service like Legal Shred for your hard drive destruction needs is that your hard drive will be destroyed on your property, in your presence, and you will receive a certificate of destruction upon completion. Hard drive shredding is the only true way to achieve peace of mind when disposing of an old computer.

Benefits of Hard Drive Shredding:

  • Your sensitive data is now 100% unrecoverable, so you don’t have to worry at all about hackers seizing your data.
  • You can ensure your business is in compliance with regulatory requirements, avoiding fines and potential lawsuits.
  • For personal computers, your data will be safely destroyed without the worry of identity theft

For hard drive disposal, consider hard drive shredding services that can offer complete and total destruction.

Degaussing vs Hard Drive Shredding

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