Hi Eileen, Wow, I was just talking to a friend about this same subject. We had just learned that just by reformating your computer before disposing of it does not mean that your information isn't still there. Great post, most people are not aware of this fact and it is the most valuable information you could have posted. Thank you for all that you do to keep us from identity theft! You are so much appreciated. Merry Christmas to you and yours and a Prosperous New Year! Your friend Donna aka texgirl IN GOD WE TRUST

Hey Donna, What a coinsidence :)LOL Thank You for visiting Donna, and You also Have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

Hi Eileen, Here's a little tip for those getting rid of "old computers" If you have ao old copy of MS-Dos, lying around, put disk 1 into floppy drive; when prompted to install hit f3 (escape) Now select drive that represents your floppy drive, usually a: type in Xformat c: (your hard drive) then hit enter. what you'll be doing is completely re-formating the old hard drive, completely and effectivley erasing "all information stored on it". The 'X-Format' command is a non-reversable operation.. It's a long process, but very useful. hope this helps

He's that's Great info their Steven. But does that work on Windows XP also? Thanks for stopping bye :)

Eileen: A great reminder. No doubt some have probably never thought of the dangers involved. It is important to be sure the hard drive has no personal info left on it when disposing of it. It is also important to remember to get a copy of your important info before wiping it clean. Maybe you have some website urls in your bookmarks and suddenly realize your favorites are not listed on the new computer. Maybe you had some affiliate program login info or some special little tool or utility you downloaded but won't remember where to find it. Perhaps you have very good reason to use an older version of something you downloaded but once you move over to the new computer that older version is no longer available online. And you are stuck with the newer version. Some utlities can scan your harddisk and give you a printed copy of the name and version of all programs that were officially installed. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Wayne Ellis