Dumping your data

Q: I have personal information on my computer in many of my files. I also have copies of these files on CD’s. I have just brought a new computer. What I would like to know is how can I take the information from my old computer and place it on new computer? I also would like to know how could I delete my personal information on my old computer and CD’s so that no one can get my information?
Shawn
A: There are three options that you may find as viable means of transferring your data from your old system to your new one. The first option is to use software that will make a copy or clone in your drive. This software can be found just about any store that offers a reasonable selection of software. It is generally pretty straightforward and you are guided through the process by user-friendly menus. Cloning software ranges in price from the inexpensive to the expensive. They generally start around $40.
The next two options call for you to be slightly more comfortable with computers, but it saves you the trouble of having to destroy your files. You could try to network your computers together. This will allow you to make good use of your more mature computer, and serve as a time saver if you have more than one computer user in your household.
You could also just install the hard drive from your old computer into your new one. Not only does this option increase the storage space on your new computer, it also frees up the physical space that would be taken up by another computer if you networked them. If you are a do it yourselfer, you can hit your local Barnes and Noble and pick up a how to book on both of these tasks. If you are not comfortable networking your computers or installing an additional hard drive, there is an abundance of computer companies that will do it for you, for a fee of course.
If my other suggestions are not to your liking and you just want to chuck your old computer; then erasing your personal information is a wise idea. File shredders are software that renders a specific file unreadable. It does this by rewriting over the selected file thousands of times. If you were thinking more on the scale of hard drive instead of a file, then you need drive sanitizing software. This software does the same thing for hard drives that the file shredders does for files.
To destroy personal info on a CD, you can write over it if it is a CDRW, but the best choice would be to use a media shredder. A media shredder shreds CDs, floppies, and credit cards like a traditional shredder shreds paper. In the absence of media shredder, you can always scratch the surface of the CD with a nail or scissors and break it in half.