Next, you can deter casual snoops simply by destroying the physical USB package: Use pliers to break off the metal end<\/strong> of the USB stick, and\/or to snap the whole stick in half.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Need more security? Use a hammer, pliers, or a large shredder to individually crush\/shred the chips<\/strong> inside the USB\u2019s case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the data deleted and overwritten; and the physical device broken or in pieces, your old data should be beyond recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Permalink: https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=3088<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n COMMENT \/ QUESTION<\/strong> on THIS ITEM?<\/strong> See the<\/em> Comment box<\/strong> at bottom of this page!<\/em> It depends on what level of snooping you want to guard against. But in all cases, it\u2019s smart to start by reformatting and data-wiping any kind of drive\/memory that you\u2019re discarding. So, that\u2019s the first step. Next, you can deter casual snoops simply by destroying the physical USB package: Use pliers to break off the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,30,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-reader-asks","category-hardware","category-science-and-tech"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-NO","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3112,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/07\/26\/my-flash-drive-snapped-in-half-leaving-the-metallic-plug-in-part-in-my-computer-how-do-i-get-it-back-out-of-the-drive\/","url_meta":{"origin":3088,"position":0},"title":"“My flash drive snapped in half, leaving the metallic plug-in part in my computer. How do I get it back out of the drive?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-07-26","format":false,"excerpt":"Yikes! I hope that's all that was damaged. Because the USB socket may still be receiving power from the PC, start by turning off the PC completely: Unplug it from the wall, and remove any battery (if possible), etc. With the PC totally off and inert, you're free to use\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/broken-usb-royalty-free.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4973,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/15\/can-i-use-a-usb-2-0-flash-drive-in-a-usb-3-0-port\/","url_meta":{"origin":3088,"position":1},"title":"“Can I use a USB 2.0 flash drive in a USB 3.0 port?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-05-15","format":false,"excerpt":"(Answer requested by Roksana Parvin Yasmin) Sure, as long as both devices and their software (e.g. drivers) were manufactured to formal USB standards, they should work fine. USB is designed to be backwards (lower-numbered) compatible, meaning that a USB 3 port will work fine with USB 3, USB 2, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/usb.jpg?fit=425%2C425&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2205,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/03\/13\/readers-reply-to-cheapest-way-to-network-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":3088,"position":2},"title":"Readers reply to “cheapest way to network” post","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-03-13","format":false,"excerpt":"In \"What\u2019s the cheapest way to network an external hard drive?\" I suggested a fully-functional, zero-cost option: Connect the drive to any PC that's already on the network, and use the OS's built-in network sharing function (e.g. Win10's Give access to\/Advanced Sharing\/ option) to let others access the drive. Several\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "From the InBox"","block_context":{"text":"From the InBox","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/from-the-inbox\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2908,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/06\/06\/i-need-to-purchase-an-external-dvd-cd-drive-for-a-new-laptop-should-it-be-the-same-brand-as-the-laptop\/","url_meta":{"origin":3088,"position":3},"title":"“I need to purchase an external DVD\/CD drive for a new laptop. Should it be the same brand as the laptop?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-06-06","format":false,"excerpt":"(Answer requested by Dawn Hassell) For most PCs, it doesn't matter. Most external drives for PCs use standard USB connections, and will work with any PC that also uses standard USB connections. USB cables are inexpensive: a 3' cable typically costs under $10. If the PC uses proprietary connectors \u2014\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2125,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/22\/a-reader-asks-what-is-the-size-and-interface-of-the-oldest-hard-drive-not-ssd-you-regularly-use-and-why-do-you-still-use-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":3088,"position":4},"title":"A reader asks: “What is the size and interface of the oldest hard drive (not SSD) you regularly use, and why do you still use it?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-02-22","format":false,"excerpt":"How about four identical 14-year old, 250GB ATA\/EIDE hard drives? They're still in use and still run fine. I use them for archival\/backup storage of various photos, software, and virtual machines. These\u00a014-year-old\u00a0antiques still work just fine.\u00a0 Old-school ribbon cables, jumpers,\u00a0and power connectors... Date of RE-manufacture: Nov 2005 Those drives actually\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/20190211_095219.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/20190211_095219.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/20190211_095219.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/20190211_095219.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/20190211_095219.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/20190211_095219.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1702,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/01\/23\/a-reader-asks-why-cant-i-shut-off-my-usb-c-ports-power\/","url_meta":{"origin":3088,"position":5},"title":"A reader asks: “Why can’t I shut off my USB-C port’s power?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-01-23","format":false,"excerpt":"Reader Bernie Holladay* writes: Fred, I have a question about the USB-C port.I needed to spec a USB connection for my new PC and choose Type-C.\u00a0 It was for a connection to a USB powered cooling pad for a laptop.It worked fine but when I shut down I noticed the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/root-hub-power.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3088"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3090,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3088\/revisions\/3090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"[seperator]\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SEPERATOR-short-grey.png?resize=104%2C6\")
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