My apologies if there is already a Thread on this- but the Mar 29 LA Times reported at :
How to protect personal data on devices you plan to sell - latimes.com
that
"Thinking of selling or giving away your smartphone or laptop computer? If you have a BlackBerry or an iPhone, go right ahead. But if you have an Android phone or a computer running Windows XP, you may want to hold off.
It turns out that it's almost impossible to get rid of personal information from some devices, even if you follow the manufacturer's directions for wiping the device clean.
Robert Siciliano, identity theft expert for the technology security firm McAfee, found this out in an experiment he conducted over the fall and winter. He bought 30 electronic devices from Craigslist ? mostly smartphones and laptops ? to see how effective people were at removing personal information from their gadgets before selling them.
Siciliano was shocked to discover that some people didn't take any security precautions at all before selling a computer.
"One guy asked me to log him out of Gmail if he was still logged in," Siciliano said. "I had no idea how naive some people can be."
In the end, Siciliano was able to glean personal data from 15 of the devices through his own hacking efforts and the help of a forensic expert. That information included bank account information, Social Security numbers, child support documents, credit card account log-ins and a host of other personal data."
Comments ???
How to protect personal data on devices you plan to sell - latimes.com
that
"Thinking of selling or giving away your smartphone or laptop computer? If you have a BlackBerry or an iPhone, go right ahead. But if you have an Android phone or a computer running Windows XP, you may want to hold off.
It turns out that it's almost impossible to get rid of personal information from some devices, even if you follow the manufacturer's directions for wiping the device clean.
Robert Siciliano, identity theft expert for the technology security firm McAfee, found this out in an experiment he conducted over the fall and winter. He bought 30 electronic devices from Craigslist ? mostly smartphones and laptops ? to see how effective people were at removing personal information from their gadgets before selling them.
Siciliano was shocked to discover that some people didn't take any security precautions at all before selling a computer.
"One guy asked me to log him out of Gmail if he was still logged in," Siciliano said. "I had no idea how naive some people can be."
In the end, Siciliano was able to glean personal data from 15 of the devices through his own hacking efforts and the help of a forensic expert. That information included bank account information, Social Security numbers, child support documents, credit card account log-ins and a host of other personal data."
Comments ???
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