[REQUEST] Old Comp Tech

[Michael Breyette]

I have been building and rebuilding computers since the dial up telephone, my first paid comp job was maintaining two UNIVAC 1219's, I am now retired and still build and rebuild in house as a hobby but I am still plagued by the one question no one seems to be able to answer that is what are my obligations when I open up a junk computer and find the hard drive still in it with all the owners personal info still on it and intact, it just happened to me again tonight with an old HP computer I bought at the Eco-Thrift store in Vallejo, CA before I moved out here to Las Vegas, is there some sort of written regulation as to what my responsibilities are in this case

 

[Mick]

If you're merely a hobbyist nowadays, then I guess it's 'finders-keepers'. It would be a different matter if you were still in business. Having said which - this a purely a personal and instinctive reaction. I am not a lawyer and even if I was, I don't know what rules pertain in your country.

 

[Michael Breyette]

I just use them for parts mostly unless I get an old Asus P4S800 than I will recap it, the drives I can drill holes in them and junk them but in this case the drive has tons of old vacation pics on it and I hate to think those are the only copies the owner had

 

[GreyWolf]

@Gegen Stück After the job I just did in regards to a computer having all kinds of things happening because they decided that a system restore was decent backup enough I was about to get a 1.44" floppy drive and some disks and leave them a very ugly backup especially after their last crash that they had and had a external to do backups with in which was collecting dust more than anything else.

 

[Markverhyden]

is there some sort of written regulation as to what my responsibilities are in this case

There's not much from a statutory perspective in terms of criminal penalties. If it had child pr0n, evidence of computer crimes, etc you'd get a visit if some one else found and reported it. Things like PII, PHI, financials, etc are of no consequence as long as you don't distribute it. And the solution to that is zeroing out the drive.

I think it's safe to say there's a reason almost all reputable IT people who do this for a living don't waste a millisecond trying to look at the contents of a drive unless their getting paid to do that. Or if it's a "lab" type situation. Been quite a few years but I've tried doing a file recovery scan on a used drive I've bought to see if it got wiped properly.

There's a old saying - no good deed goes unpunished.

 

[bluecoast]

Exactly,

I think it's safe to say there's a reason almost all reputable IT people who do this for a living don't waste a millisecond trying to look at the contents of a drive unless their getting paid to do that.

Exactly this, I don't care unless a big CP image comes up on as your wallpaper. I don't want to know what is on your PC, we all have private stuff and I believe part of my job is ensuring the privacy of the customers data.

For the drive, I would use nuke and pave the drive, fully zero it out if you plan to reuse, otherwise a few holes in the platters solves any data recovery chances.

 

[GreyWolf]

@bluecoast termite is cheap to make ... and so festive =)

 

[bluecoast]

@bluecoast termite is cheap to make ... and so festive =)

I guess you could use a drill..... but bullet holes are more fun. With the 4th coming up, may I suggest Tannerite

 

[Markverhyden]

For the drive, I would use nuke and pave the drive, fully zero it out if you plan to reuse, otherwise a few holes in the platters solves any data recovery chances.

Actually with modern drives, as in the last 10+ years, zeroing out with one pass renders data recovery impossible.

 

[Michael Breyette]

There's not much from a statutory perspective in terms of criminal penalties. If it had child pr0n, evidence of computer crimes, etc you'd get a visit if some one else found and reported it. Things like PII, PHI, financials, etc are of no consequence as long as you don't distribute it. And the solution to that is zeroing out the drive.

I think it's safe to say there's a reason almost all reputable IT people who do this for a living don't waste a millisecond trying to look at the contents of a drive unless their getting paid to do that. Or if it's a "lab" type situation. Been quite a few years but I've tried doing a file recovery scan on a used drive I've bought to see if it got wiped properly.

There's a old saying - no good deed goes unpunished.

I just like to verify the drive if present has been wiped clean for my own peace of mind

 

[mikeroq]

@bluecoast termite is cheap to make ... and so festive =)

Uh no I don't want any termites thanks. Now thermite on the other hand...let see iron oxide and where's that aluminum powder...

 

[Markverhyden]

I just like to verify the drive if present has been wiped clean for my own peace of mind

Absolutely. Nothing wrong with that. But look at the processes involved. Starting with an unknown drive. To scan for content you first need to scan the entire drive and then check the output. It's not a set and forget process so it takes un-billable time.. If you just nuke the drive, using your favorite tool, it is a set and forget process. A proper tool will report problems, like bad blocks. in which case it's better to destroy the drive.

Money doesn't grow on trees. But many on here, including myself, have one of these. You can generate a printed output if necessary. It's about as set and forget as you can find anywhere.