Nothing can complicate your life quite as thoroughly as identity theft.  So before you well your old PC or return a dead hard drive, keep one important fact in mind: Deleting files does not guarantee that they are gone for good.  To erase your hard drive properly, you can’t just toss the files into the Recycle Bin and empty it – you need to overwrite the data on the disks as well.  I could get all technical at this point, but instead, just go to www.dban.org and download Darik’s Boot and Nuke, a free boot-disk utility that securely wipes any hard drive using any one of several tried-and-true methods.  Once DBAN is done with your disk, you can be sure the data is gone.

Of course, nothing beats smashing the hard drive with a 2 pound hammer, but at least your drive will still be useable if you use DBAN.  If that procedure seems a bit too technical for you, and you can always bring the drive to your favourite computer repair shop and have them do it for you.