We recently mentioned encryption, but what do you do when it comes time to throw out a hard drive? Wipe it clean. Why go to the trouble? The same reason you should encrypt client data. As a lawyer, your computer is an identity thief’s dream. When you toss a hard drive with readable data on it, you might as well be handing your clients’ bank accounts over to the bad guys.

And remember there is no such thing as deleting files. Getting them back is a small freeware download away.

Fortunately, wiping a hard drive isn’t difficult. I have used Darik’s Boot and Nuke in the past. All you do it burn it to a CD, pop it in the CD drive, turn on your computer, and follow the prompts. Done.

Lifehacker also points to a ZDNet article about Secure Erase, a set of commands that has been embedded in most ATA hard drives since 2001. Get the Freeware Secure Erase Utility to use it.

In the end, Darik’s Boot and Nuke is probably easier and has broader application, but it never hurts to have options.