Scary Story About Your Old Harddisk

Ramblings on Wednesday, March 7th, 2007

The true story is about an old man who sent his pc for repair and was told the service center has exchanged his old defective hard disk with a new one. What happened to the old hard disk with sensitive information inside (social security number, credit card info, bank statement, where you live, your phone number)?

The service center said they will drill a hole on the old hard drive. Few months later, some stranger called the old man saying he just bought the old man hard disk from a junk yard sale. He has got the phone number from the hard disk itself.

No body knows how the hard disk which was support to be drilled a hole went to a junk yard sale.

‘I just bought your hard drive’ - The Red Tape Chronicles - MSNBC.com3

Note to myself: Try not storing any sensitive information of a hard drive, encrypt it, password protect it, or do what I did with my old hard disk: dissemble it, take out the two super powerful magnets and use the platters as cup cover (the thing you put under your hot cup of tea, forgot the name )