Data Wiping makes Data Secure

 

Data Wiping makes Data Secure  

When it comes to selling your PC, giving it to a friend or relative or simply to do a Data Wiping, one of the essential steps is to go through the more or less tedious step of restoring the equipment. It is also a good option if we encounter operating problems and want to cut our losses.

We may be before the most drastic solution but it is also the most effective that we have at hand. A process to on the one hand eliminate operating problems, clean our PC (tablet or Smartphone) of personal files and, incidentally, eliminate garbage and thus optimize performance . A process that nonetheless offers several avenues that we now come to see.

To begin with, we start from the basis that we have the equipment updated with the latest patches released and we want to leave it clean, but how to restore Windows 10 on our PC to solve problems and, incidentally, make our operating system like new? We are going to learn to restore our equipment or what is the same, do a hard reset

For this we are going to go to the Configuration> Update and security route and once inside we will look for the option called "Recovery".

On the right side we will see the information in the section "Reset this PC" and if we are determined to take the step, we can only click on the "Start" button.

It is the step to open a new window and start a wizard that shows us different restoration options. Specifically, it shows two options:

·         Keep my files: this option can be interesting if for some reason you have not been able to make a previous backup, although and as we always recommend, the ideal is to have a backup copy of our personal files.

·         Remove everything: it is the most drastic option but also the most effective. Leave the computer as fresh out of the box and the precaution to highlight is the one related to the version of Windows that we have without at some point we have updated.

Remove all

In this case, the system will offer us two ways, a fast method or the slow method .

·         Quick method, remove only my files . Faster but less secure, as the files are not completely erased, they are simply removed. Old files could be recovered with the appropriate tools, so it is not ideal if we are going to sell our equipment.

·         Slow method, Shred the files and clean the drive . The deletion is total and the deleted files are practically unrecoverable. Of course, arm yourself with patience, because the time will always depend on the size of your hard drive.

Once one or the other has been chosen, the system will inform us of the content to be deleted and the process will start after a restart. It may give this warning if we have more than one unit .

The process can last more or less depending on how loaded the hard disk is, whether it is of the HDD or SSD type and in general on the power of our equipment. A process in which we will not have to intervene at all until a new order on the screen.

 Keep my files

If, on the contrary, we opt for the first method, the one that maintains our files , we must know that personal data in the form of files and files will be saved, but we will lose all the applications downloaded and installed later.

If we have downloaded them from the Microsoft Store, it will be enough to access the application store , log in with our account, with which we bought them and reinstall them. Whether they were free or purchased, they are all registered in our account.

If, on the contrary, the applications do not come from the Microsoft store , the process can become somewhat more tedious depending on the origin of the application in question. In that sense, it is interesting to have a list of installed applications and also install them as we need them and depending on the utility that we are going to give them.

A good method to end the applications that we are gradually installing and that we rarely use later. A system to improve the performance of the computer by ending apps that consume resources in the form of RAM and battery.

Different ways that will allow us to enjoy our PC as the first day , leaving it well as when we take it out of the box or much cleaner than we have it over time. Three methods from which we can choose the one that best suits our interests.