Hello, and welcome…
Rick’s Daily Tech Tips Update for Monday, June 17, 2024
Topics covered in this issue…
• How to prepare a computer with an SSD for recycling
• How to save money when shopping for a new computer
• Q&A: Does a System Image Backup save everything on the hard drive?
• Are you legally required to show your receipt as you’re exiting a store?
• June’s Tech Tips Giveaway: CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD PFC 1500VA/1000W Sinewave UPS System
Today’s issue is sponsored by…
Wondering how much RAM you can install inside your computer? The awesome System Scanner tool from Crucial will tell you. It’ll also tell you what type of RAM sticks (and how many) you’ll need to buy to complete your desired upgrade. Click right here to check it out.
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Monthly Tech Giveaway….
We have a winner for May…
Congratulations to Sean T. from Moreno Valley, California for winning the TP-Link Deco AXE4900 Tri-Band WiFi 6E Mesh WiFi System in May’s Tech Tips Giveaway.
June’s winner will receive a fantastic CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD PFC 1500VA/1000W Sinewave UPS System (click for details).
The prizes featured in my Monthly Tech Giveaways include a combination of the best items I have received for testing and review and brand new items provided directly by partner companies.
All winners are selected at random. All Standard subscribers have an equal chance to win. All Premium subscribers have double the chance to win (their email addresses are added to the pot twice).
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Today’s featured tech tip….
How to prepare a computer with an SSD for recycling
You probably know how important it is to either securely wipe an unwanted computer’s hard drive or remove it completely before taking the machine to a recycling center.
Well, it’s just as important to do the same to a computer’s solid state drive (SSD).
These days more and more computers are coming with SSDs instead of spinning hard drives, and just as with hard drives you need to render the data on an SSD completely unreadable and non-recoverable before recycling the machine.
One option is to use a software tool to encrypt the contents of the SSD and then intentionally “forget” the encryption key. (Security experts recommend against trying to “wipe” an SSD because that doesn’t always work as well as it does with hard drives.)
If the computer is a Mac and it’s still working, you can use macOS’ native FileVault utility to encrypt the contents of the SSD.
If it’s a working Windows machine you can use a third-party encryption tool such as VeraCrypt to encrypt the drive.
If the computer won’t boot up into the installed operating system your best course of action is to physically destroy the flash memory chips on the SSD.
All you really need to do is remove the SSD from the machine, cover it with a towel and then smash it to bits with a hammer.
Note: I strongly recommend that you wear eye protection while you’re doing this. Just sayin’.
If the flash memory chips are soldered directly onto the computer’s mainboard you can open up the case and smash the chips right where they are.
The latest from Rick’s Daily Tips Tech Blog…
• How to save money when shopping for a new computer
This post offers several tips.
• Q&A: Does a System Image Backup save everything on the hard drive?
This post has the answer.
• Click here to see today’s ‘Picture of the Day’.
Every morning I post a new photo that I find inspiring, intriguing, or just plain beautiful to look at. Jumpstart your day by checking it out.
Rick’s Daily Pick…
CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme VR Gaming PC
If you’re looking for a really nice gaming desktop, this one offers plenty of power and speed for the money.
Today’s post from ‘My Daily Smile’…
Are you legally required to show your receipt as you’re exiting a store?
The answer might surprise you.
Tech news that caught my eye…
• NASA’s 47-year-old Voyager 1 is back in action after months of technical issues
• Apple won’t wait until next year for some Siri improvements
• Truist Bank confirms data breach after stolen data appears online
• Samsung is testing an AI health coach as the race against Apple, Google heats up
• Microsoft accidentally lists the benefits of not using a Microsoft account on Windows 11
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Thanks so much, and have an amazing day.
Your tech buddy,
Rick Rouse
https://www.RicksDailyTips.com