Most of us own electronics and most of them will break down after a prolonged period of usage. Upon their malfunctions, most of them cannot be repaired or the cost of repair makes it not worth repairing. What then happens when your electronics have reached the end of their service lifespan and you cannot repair it? Do you throw it away? Probably.

But for most of us, it is worth recycling the metallic components of the electronics. The other aspect is regarding the security of the data these electronics have stored. For example, some electronics have hard disks for data storage. Before recycling them or handing them over to metal recyclers, it is very important to ensure your data is wiped off and will not be accessed by third parties.

This sensitive data may include bank account numbers, passwords, and even social security numbers. If this information gets into the public domain, you or your customers may end up landing into trouble. It is therefore very important to stick to some precautionary measures that will help you not to endanger your life or the security of your data:

Do a proper screening for the right electronics recycling services

Do a thorough search and screen through your available options to determine a trusted electronics recycling service. It is important to get a service provider that will assure you the safety of your personal data. This means that this recycler will not do any actions to compromise private data, should they detect it. Finding such a recycling provider may take time, so it will be wise to be patient and thorough in the screening process. If there is any data that you will like to recover before recycling, you can also consider using data recovery services.

Wipe your hard disks to remove existing data

504456253_48bf47197e

Another way of ensuring your safety when your computer parts are recycled is to wipe the hard discs so that you can remove any tangible information you may have on these parts. This may involve downloading software to help you accomplish the task. If you have the software, boot from the CD and select the drives to wipe. This assures you that no matter who your recycling service provider is, your sensitive data is irrecoverable.

Destroy the electronics parts onsite

For electronics recycling, there are services that promise that they will destroy the recyclable parts onsite while some will do it offsite. If you are sure that your electronics do not have any private data, it is not a problem to allow the recycling firm to destroy the parts offsite. However, if you are not sure that data has been completely wiped out, it is advisable to let the parts be destroyed in your presence.

Sign an official agreement

This is important because you can use it to indicate that you are the owner of any data may be recovered. You will also be able to hold the recycling service provider accountable for any breach of data in any adverse situation.

As you can see, the whole essence of taking these precautions is to ensure your privacy is safeguarded and your sensitive data stays confidential when you decide to do electronics recycling.