Everything You Need to Know About Hard Drive Degaussing

Introduction: Hard Drive Degaussing

Deleting personal and confidential data is no longer a one-step process, as it once was. Everything has changed with the evolution of the digital space, which is why you need to do more than merely press the “delete button” on your computer if you’re to protect your data.

You need hard drive degausser services to ensure this data won’t fall into the wrong hands.

What is Degaussing?

Degaussing refers to the permanent erasure of data stored in a computer, smartphone, or other portable hard drives. When done by an ITAD company, you can walk away knowing your data has been thoroughly sanitised.

It’s the process all businesses need if they’re to prevent sensitive data held in decommissioned hard drives from getting stolen, misused, sold, or leaked to your competition.

What Can Degaussing Delete?

Degaussing a hard drive is considered one of the safest and most efficient ways to erase or destroy information held in a device. Apart from modern hard disks, you can also use this process to remove data stored in cassettes, tapes, and other storage devices.

Although you can use a degausser to erase data from any magnetic storage device, many companies and businesses typically use it to deal with decommissioned drives. Degaussing works because it can create a permanent change in a device.

You can, for example, use it to erase classified business information. But before you proceed to use hard drive degausser services, start by confirming that you no longer need the information you’re about to erase.

What is the Process of Degaussing a Hard Drive?

If you have to dispose of any e-waste correctly, you must start by ensuring that you follow the correct data destruction process. And this means ensuring that you keep all identifying or sensitive data away from prying eyes, which is where degaussing comes in.

Degaussing involves generating a strong magnetic field. During this process, the generated field is strong enough to completely erase or neutralise any data stored in a hard drive, making the drive unusable.

For it to work, you must start by exposing the hard drive platter, followed by its spindle and then slowly running the degausser over the platter. Make sure to run the degausser on both sides of your platter, or else some data may remain on the drive.

Often, a handheld degausser will work well for you if you’re a small business with limited degaussing needs. You may, however, need to hire a reputable ITAD company to help degauss bulky items and ensure that you dispose of your e-waste accordingly.

Benefits of Safe Hard Drive Degaussing

Whether it’s for personal or business use, degaussing can prove beneficial in the following ways:

• Guarantees Protection: Hard drive degaussing ensures your sensitive information won’t fall into the wrong hands. It also provides an assurance that the data stored in the new or refurbished MacBooks, phones and laptops can’t be stolen or leaked if the device gets lost.

• It Saves Money: You stand a chance to save on expensive IT costs if you invest in a handheld degausser for your small business. Investing in a degaussing service also makes it possible to dispose of all your old and useless computers.

• Degaussing Saves Time: A degausser only takes a few seconds to create a strong magnetic field and erase all data. It’s a feature that you’ll find useful when you need to destroy the data stored on multiple computers.

Why Businesses Need Hard Drive Degaussing

The data held by a business can prove detrimental to its operations if it were to fall into a competitor’s hands. Whether it’s client information, operational budgets, or even upcoming product catalogues, there’s a need to ensure it gets destroyed safely.

Some of the top reasons why every business should invest in degaussing services are:

• Physical destruction of a hard drive isn’t enough to erase data
• Avoid penalties arising from poor e-waste disposal
• Secure destruction of the information stored in refurbished phones in UK
• Quiet and cost-effective way to destroy confidential data

Conclusion

Degaussing is the only sure way to obliterate all sensitive information completely. It provides you with peace of mind knowing that the information held in a drive can never be recovered, even through the use of advanced forensic tools.

Looking at its benefits and the fact that it only takes seconds to work, there is no reason why you shouldn’t invest in hard drive degausser services today!