Erase

Let's say you're getting rid of your game console. Maybe you think you're too grown up. Maybe you bought a better one. Or maybe you just need to make rent. Whatever the case, you need to wipe your data off of it. Game consoles these days carry sensitive information like addresses, passwords, and even credit card information.

Here's how to secure each of the three major game consoles before you sell them.

Let's start with the Xbox 360. If you're upgrading to a new Xbox 360, you'll need to get the Hard Drive Transfer Kit, which is included with some newer Xboxes or available for around $50. Using it is an involved process of moving your data, then moving your data licenses. In the end, though, you will erase all the data on the original drive.

If you don't care about transferring content, it's much easier. Go to the 360 dashboard, go to system settings, choose memory, press Y for device options. Select format the drive. And confirm it with yes. The drive will reformat, and you'll see the default setup screen.

On to the Nintendo Wii.… Read more

Duplicate File Eraser is a simple program that ostensibly finds and removes duplicate files. Although it's easy enough to find duplicates with the program, deleting them is another matter.

The program's interface is extremely plain, with all of the program's functions in view. Users first select the directory or directories that they want to search, then set a handful of other options, including whether or not they want to search subdirectories or include hidden files. The results appear in a separate tab, where users can select the files that they wish to delete. Actually deleting the files … Read more

HDShredder from Miray Software is a disk cleaning utility that comes in five versions, each building upon the other's basic functionality with more features, capacity, or levels of security. We tested the Free version, which is more than adequate for most users' data removal needs. It offers secure high-speed deletion of entire hard drives or other storage media to the point that any data they contain is unrecoverable, independent of your operating system, file system, or partition layout. It also recognizes and deletes proprietary formatting that other cleaners often miss.

HDShredder Free downloads as a compressed file but installs … Read more

SystemUp Eraser 2009 is an exciting tool for removing data from a computer. With a professional design and thorough deletion methods, this program provides great security enhancement.

SystemUp Eraser has a professional-looking interface with an efficient design. Not only were all processes simplified, but also the graphics gave us the impression that a great deal of care had been taken in making this an easy-to-use program. We were able to select files, folders, or entire drives to erase. The program let us choose the level of complexity we wanted to apply to erasing. Each level did a masterful job of … Read more

Dong's back and he's on the attack! Unfortunately, he returns from Vietnam with swine flu or something, so if I sound like I'm mumbling during the show, it's because I'm trying to keep my mouth covered from his germy germs.

Dong lived on a boat for one whole day in Vietnam, swam in the bay, and tries to convince me to do the same. That conversation somehow leads to a discussion about the Seven Wonders of the World, which apparently now include the Internet. Pretty lame if you ask me.

Also, Dong attempts to uncover … Read more

Hermetic Systems' Data Destroyer is a disk-wiping utility that can render data unrecoverable by overwriting it multiple times. It will scrub your hard disks, floppies, and ZIP disks clean. It will delete individual files, whole directories, or entire disks full of data. You can select the type and number of purges, or overwrites. Data Destroyer will even estimate how long it will take to perform the selected number of purges. It meets stringent U.S. Department of Defense standards for data disk sanitization, too. If it's good enough for the Pentagon, it'll probably meet your needs, too.

Data … Read more

Active@ Eraser provides users with a way to delete all traces of information from a computer. By matching this service with simple commands and fast results, users will have no trouble securing their computer.

The program's interface was simply laid out with all its necessary components on one screen. With a quick trip to the Help file to sort the process out, users will be deleting their data in a matter of minutes. Users begin by navigating through a simple file tree to the left of the screen that allows you to select entire folders for deletion or to … Read more

Too much technology seems designed to actively stress us out, from checking your BlackBerry to dealing with computer security. Fortunately, there's a handful of devices deigned to promote relaxation, and I showed off a few of them earlier today on New York's WPIX-TV.

Of course, your mileage may vary with any of these, so don't come complaining to me if trying to set up your heating vibrating massage face mask isn't totally relaxing. Check out the clip below and let the chilling-out commence.

We had very mixed feelings after we put East-Tec Eraser 2009 to the test. While it provided us with stellar removal of unwanted files and browsing traces, it failed to provide us with its findings before it erased them, and a glitch caused the program to freeze up on several occasions.

The user interface is pretty self-explanatory. The sleek command buttons on the left side of the interface let you choose the cleaning options you'd like to employ. But from the get-go, the program would freeze up on us and become unresponsive at various times. Eventually, it would return … Read more