Before getting rid of an old hard drive, make sure it’s unreadable

There’s always a chance somebody could get a hold of your old hard drives or flash drives. Make sure your data is deleted and unreadable before you throw out or sell it to anyone else. If it’s a work computer it also may be required by your employer’s tech policy, check with the IT department to meet their security protocol. For many uses, free and open-source options like Darik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN) may be sufficient.