I dont understand some of this logic -- its like people here think drives die every 3 months on a regular basis and its a really common thing ...
1. I appreciate all of the responses about drive security. I haven't been able to find much on the topic before this. All comments (including this one) on this thread have been helpful and insightful. Thanks to the OP for raising the issue. I will certainly look into the file vault and server suggestions.
2. Nope, don't work for CIA, my data is mostly routine stuff collected and stored somewhere on hard drives, and passed on from nearly 25 years of using Macs for my business and personal use (actually, transferred data from Commodore 64 disks in the pre-Mac era, if truth be told) -- stuff that could include Quickin data, rough drafts/final versions of letters, tax returns, medical records, etc. If you slip and maintain one customer's credit card info on your HDD, and it gets out and is used for nefarious purposes, you would likely be successfully sued.
Reasoning for being concerned would be akin to mindlessly gathering up a bunch of office papers, cancelled checks, bank statements and other documents without reading them, not shredding them, before bagging them up and setting them on the curb for garbage pickup.
Sure, it's
unlikely that someone could find that trash bag and make use of the info contained, but it
could happen. (And it
would happen
if your name was Charlie Sheen.) I would just like to know what happens to a hard drive if I have to hand it over to Apple in a warranty swap, and that there are at least minimal procedures in place to ensure the destruction of the data and/or the hard drive itself, or that there would be reasonable options to remove the drive if I'm going to leave it at a repair shop for non-drive issues. Is this, at a
minimum, too much to ask?
The first thing I would check if I bought a used or refurbed computer, is what's on the drive. Maybe the last user thought the drive was dead, but maybe it wasn't.
Broken HDDs the topic of this thread it's not 100% easy to replace on my twin PPC towers, but it is at least do-able without too much time/effort, compared with my previous generation Macs (Quaras and SEs).
Yes, I know that it is time to move on, and I will examine
ALL of my options when I am ready to buy, sometime before the end of the year (for tax purposes). I will examine every option, based on
my needs -- (including the for data security).
I also know that the days of an Apple focus on user (easily) expandable Mac systems are gone. I have no problem with Apple wanting me to upgrade every year. Apple will do what Apple will do. But, I
will consider my
specific needs, and if a Mac Pro, based on its user expandable options is right for me when I choose to buy it - even though it may be 1,000 more powerful than what I need, then, that's
my decision and
my money, thank you.
PS - Thanks Badger, for your suggestion at looking at a Mini. I do have a 2009 mini that I will soon start experimenting on to see if that fulfills my needs. I will look carefully at any current and new Mac offerings before purchasing. And yes, Badger, I
have made rotating offsite backups a part of my strategy for the past 10 years or so. Nothing is perfect, so I'll also probably look into cloud-based strategies, if I feel it to be reasonably secure, for as an additional backup for my most critical data (such as customer info).
