Don't give your Personal Data Away
Just before the Super Bowl a friend of mine asked me what I would do if I were giving my computer away. My advice was to backup or save their files. They can save them to CD-ROMs or a thumb drive. I advised him to make sure that the media you copy it to is readable after you are complete. In other words verify you can read what was written. A testing of your backup.
I then suggested that he reformat his hard disk and reload the operating system. Once complete, verify that all of your personal information no longer exists on the computer disk(s).
This should prevent personal information from getting into the wrong hands. It may even prevent "Identity Theft" and the headache of cleaning up after someone has charged that large screen TV on your credit card.
It's your personal data. Don't spread it around.
-- Frank
