On travel, computers and data security

Packing up for travel, sorting out my clothes, accessories, personal effects, toiletries, gifts and stuff can either be a breeze or a tough task depending on my destination and how many days the vacation or affair will be. Of course, my ever reliable HP laptop Pavi is always with me as my handcarry. Coming here in Finland though was a bit of a challenge since I had to bring with me some computer parts as requested by big sis – motherboard, RAM, video card, hard drive, wires, connectors and cables and yes those tiny screws. What I did was to wrap the motherboard, video card and RAM chips in paper and the hard drive in bubble wrap. Then I put them inside my laptop carrying bag with some clothes in between for some shock resistance. 😉

While it requires a bit of ingenuity when it comes to travel and computers, it needs more diligence when dealing with computers and security particularly with data protection. For instance, confidential data from banks, organizations and companies need to be erased permanently thus the need for secure hard disc data destruction. With the technology of computer parts being recycled, this is very essential so as to protect the data from possibly being accessed in the future. This ‘cleaning’ of hard drives and other storage media such as floppy drives or CDs is possible with a special software and should be according to the Data Protection Act 1998. This process is required in computer recycling for secure data protection and to deter any hard disk data analysis for ulterior motives such as identity theft.

Recycling and other environmental issues are topics of concern to IT companies. Computer parts recycling helps reduce waste, and solutions for data protection are also considered in the process particularly with companies such as Enviro Friendly Computing for product recycling and re-use.