Computer repair man stole my identity
Computer data theft and the repair procedure
With computers becoming more and more important for data storage, we accumulate masses of important data on our hard drives. Some of this information would be locked away if stored on paper but can remain in almost full view of anyone who cares to search. This is not such a big problem if you limit access to your computer or laptop itself but when you give it to someone to repair, an element of blind trust kicks in.
The Problem
Some years ago I came accross an article regarding fraud by computer repair personnel. The main problem was down to (apart from dishonest techs) sensitive banking details being left in files which could be easily read. The information was then used to make purchases using the customers' credit and debit cards. Eventually, the culprits were caught and the scam exposed.
What can we do?
There are simple measures you can take to ensure your data is protected from prying eyes.
1. Firstly, you should have back-ups of your important files on a memory stick or external hard disk.
2. Important files should be encrypted with a password.
3. The disk should be cleaned of temporary files using a cleanup utility and free space wiped.
These measures aren't impossible to get around but if good encryption is used with a strong (non-dictionary worded) password, it would be nearly impossible for any tech to read your data. And certainly not in the time a repair would usually take.... even a particularly extensive one.
Tools to use
For data encryption, the free 'Axcrypt' is an excellent program and has good online instructions to help you keep your data safe.
Click here to go to the download site.
For disk clean-up, 'CCleaner' is an excellent free choice and very easy to use.
Click here to go to the download site.
Hopefully this short guide will start you on the road to protecting your sensitive data.
Bill
A Star Universal Computers.
With computers becoming more and more important for data storage, we accumulate masses of important data on our hard drives. Some of this information would be locked away if stored on paper but can remain in almost full view of anyone who cares to search. This is not such a big problem if you limit access to your computer or laptop itself but when you give it to someone to repair, an element of blind trust kicks in.
The Problem
Some years ago I came accross an article regarding fraud by computer repair personnel. The main problem was down to (apart from dishonest techs) sensitive banking details being left in files which could be easily read. The information was then used to make purchases using the customers' credit and debit cards. Eventually, the culprits were caught and the scam exposed.
What can we do?
There are simple measures you can take to ensure your data is protected from prying eyes.
1. Firstly, you should have back-ups of your important files on a memory stick or external hard disk.
2. Important files should be encrypted with a password.
3. The disk should be cleaned of temporary files using a cleanup utility and free space wiped.
These measures aren't impossible to get around but if good encryption is used with a strong (non-dictionary worded) password, it would be nearly impossible for any tech to read your data. And certainly not in the time a repair would usually take.... even a particularly extensive one.
Tools to use
For data encryption, the free 'Axcrypt' is an excellent program and has good online instructions to help you keep your data safe.
Click here to go to the download site.
For disk clean-up, 'CCleaner' is an excellent free choice and very easy to use.
Click here to go to the download site.
Hopefully this short guide will start you on the road to protecting your sensitive data.
Bill
A Star Universal Computers.