How to Destroy Sensitive Documents

In business and at home, there are sensitive documents that could cause a lot of problems if they were to fall into the wrong hands. Trade secrets and confidential information need to remain just that: secret and confidential. Paper and electronic copies of these documents need to be destroyed rather than thrown out. These steps are designed to ensure that sensitive documents are truly destroyed, protecting your business and family.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Paper shredder
• Shredder service
• Hard drive wipe program
• Selective shredding program
• Industrial shredder

Destroy Paper Documents

1. Use a paper shredder. There are many makes and models to choose from. Cross-cut shredders are more effective, but also more expensive.
2. Find a shredder service. These companies pick up whole or pre-shredded documents and destroy or dispose of them. Reputable shredding services guarantee confidentiality and discretion.
3. Burn your sensitive documents. This is a low-tech but effective option. Make sure you take safety precautions.

Destroy Electronic Documents

4. Erase your entire hard drive. Computers store data on their hard drives, and this information can be located and re-created by experts even if the files have been deleted. There are many programs that "wipe" your entire hard drive clean, destroying all sensitive documents along with every bit of information on the drive. This is a great option if you are throwing a computer away, but are still concerned about sensitive documents.
5. Use a selective-file shredding program. If you are still using the computer, but want to make sure that the deleted sensitive documents are truly destroyed, there are many programs to choose from.
6. Physically destroy your hard drive. This is tougher than it sounds. But if you can remove the hard drive from your computer, you can run it through an industrial-strength shredder designed for shredding metal and plastic.

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