Beware: Your Old Xbox Stores Personal Information

DugMachine

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Apr 5, 2010
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Well seeing as it took some uni kid doing this for shits and giggles andsome digging, I doubt the average 12 year old who bought my used xbox will know how to get this information.
 

Shoggoth2588

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Aug 31, 2009
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Well then...good thing I still have both of mine. One that's dead anyway...which I should take apart and look at...and the working one I wouldn't sell anyway even though my relationship with it is love-hate.
 

putowtin

I'd like to purchase an alcohol!
Jul 7, 2010
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Greg Tito said:
Or you pawn it to pay for hookers and blow.
So now we know what you get upto on a weekend!

OT only xbox I've gotten rid of was due to RROD, and before it went to that scrap pile in the sky it was:

1: Dropped out of a 4 story building
2: Sat on by my cat
3: Dropped out of a 5 story building
4: Put in a dishwasher
5: Dropped out of a 8 story building
6: Attacked with a lump hammer, crowbar and a nail gun (not recommended, the nails just bounced)
7: Dropped out of a 8 story building (again)

RIP original 360, RIP!
 

Farther than stars

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Jun 19, 2011
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I don't see what the big deal is. The fact that there's always a trace of personal information on your computer has been common knowledge for ages (and consoles are basically just computers). Ask anyone in IT and they'll tell you exactly the same thing: the only way to completely erase data is to set your computer on fire.
In fact, fire is better than a sledgehammer, because pieces from a smashed computer can still be put together and information can still be retrieved from the magnetic imprints. That's how forensic scientists can figure out information from computers that have been purposefully or accidentally smashed. So if you are going to use a sledgehammer, I'd think about running an industrial-size magnet over your hard drive first; that would be much more efficient than using some flimsy piece of cleaning software.
 

neonsword13-ops

~ Struck by a Smooth Criminal ~
Mar 28, 2011
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So is this why I couldn't download my old account onto my new Xbox? Ehh, whatever, I never use my Xbox anyway so that's not a big deal.

Micro$oft's already rotting in my personal hell for charging online play.
 

Krion_Vark

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Mar 25, 2010
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putowtin said:
Greg Tito said:
Or you pawn it to pay for hookers and blow.
So now we know what you get upto on a weekend!

OT only xbox I've gotten rid of was due to RROD, and before it went to that scrap pile in the sky it was:

1: Dropped out of a 4 story building
2: Sat on by my cat
3: Dropped out of a 5 story building
4: Put in a dishwasher
5: Dropped out of a 8 story building
6: Attacked with a lump hammer, crowbar and a nail gun (not recommended, the nails just bounced)
7: Dropped out of a 8 story building (again)

RIP original 360, RIP!
What? WHy? SOunds awesome though I do have to say.

My only other Xbox is currently sitting downstairs in a box that my new one came in. So I guess I am safe
 

Fijiman

I am THE PANTS!
Legacy
Dec 1, 2011
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And now I know what I'm not going to do with the old hard drive when I upgrade to one with more space.(60GB just don't cut it these days)
putowtin said:
OT only xbox I've gotten rid of was due to RROD, and before it went to that scrap pile in the sky it was:

1: Dropped out of a 4 story building
2: Sat on by my cat
3: Dropped out of a 5 story building
4: Put in a dishwasher
5: Dropped out of a 8 story building
6: Attacked with a lump hammer, crowbar and a nail gun (not recommended, the nails just bounced)
7: Dropped out of a 8 story building (again)

RIP original 360, RIP!
Did you happen to record record all that and put it on YouTube?
 

Grunt_Man11

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Mar 15, 2011
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Another reason to remove the hard drive to my Xbox before pawning it.

The first is because the guy at the pawn will only give me $60 for it, hard drive or no hard drive.

This is also another reason to always use Microsoft Points to buy stuff off of Xbox Live... here's hoping they keep them for the next gen.
 

Kunzer

Press R to cause ragequit
Jul 14, 2008
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Greg Tito said:
Beware: Your Old Xbox Stores Personal Information

She recommends removing your Xbox hard drive and wiping it clean with a specific formatting application like Boot and Nuke [http://www.dban.org/] to completely erase information from the magnetic disks. In fact, you should use this kind of application whenever you want to discard old hard drives and your worried about someone nicking your CC number.
For shame, Greg Tito. For shame.

=(

on topic: I'm definitely not going to sell my PS3 now that I've read this article
 

Owyn_Merrilin

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May 22, 2010
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I actually had to use these powers for good once. I was working as a computer tutor at the local community college, when one of the professors came in with a borked flash drive. By the end of the day she had her data back, and I had learned an important lesson about just how easy it is to recover data that you think has been deleted. Seriously, the sledgehammer method is the only way to be sure -- although if it's that sensitive, I question the need to put it on a hard drive in the first place.
 

putowtin

I'd like to purchase an alcohol!
Jul 7, 2010
3,452
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0
Krion_Vark said:
putowtin said:
OT only xbox I've gotten rid of was due to RROD, and before it went to that scrap pile in the sky it was:

1: Dropped out of a 4 story building
2: Sat on by my cat
3: Dropped out of a 5 story building
4: Put in a dishwasher
5: Dropped out of a 8 story building
6: Attacked with a lump hammer, crowbar and a nail gun (not recommended, the nails just bounced)
7: Dropped out of a 8 story building (again)

RIP original 360, RIP!
What? WHy? SOunds awesome though I do have to say.
Why thank you!

Fijiman said:
And now I know what I'm not going to do with the old hard drive when I upgrade to one with more space.(60GB just don't cut it these days)
putowtin said:
Did you happen to record record all that and put it on YouTube?
Some one recorded it, but I don't know what happened to the footage (It'll probably show up in the next Michael Bay film!)
 

Strazdas

Robots will replace your job
May 28, 2011
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"I think Microsoft has a longstanding pattern of this," Podhradsky said. "When you go and reformat your computer, like a Windows system, it tells you that all of your data will be erased. In actuality that's not accurate - the data is still available."
Well yeah, they only delete the headers and its there as lnog as you dont overwrite it. but that is reasonable because wiping a large HDD is a very long work. would you be willing to wait for a 3-4 hour "wiping" when you reinstall windows? i doublt many users would chose that over "quick hide everything and let me use it". besides, msot people dont store information worth stealing anyway, and those that do often already know how to wipe it.
 

Nikolaz72

This place still alive?
Apr 23, 2009
2,125
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"And so we found the reason for the Red Ring. Microsoft made sure that the majority of people, instead of upgrading after selling. Upgraded after loosing the old one"

*Everything below this line is fictional*

'Sir? I estimate it will take our developement team two months to fix the mistake'
'Too expensive, we shall use explosives'
'Excuse me?'
'We will place small bombs inside the system that will go off at random times. It will be brilliant'
'But.. If they discover us. The shit that will hit the fan will be in quantities our headquarters can simply not withstand'
'Well. Ehm, we will just say its a bug we cant fix'
'They wont believe that sir'
'Oh trust me. They will be too busy getting yelled at by our fanboys when they say that our console is flawed, to actually engage us for it. Simply make it cheap enough'
'It costs ten times the price it takes us to produce and export them'
'Still half the price of our competitors'
'Point taken'
 

Glassesguy904

New member
Feb 15, 2010
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Okay, now I'm sure this is what happened. Back in January some twat got my information and wasted $100 dollars, and LIVE support only locked me down for two months. I knew it might have been my old xbox that I sold to gamestop, but they ignored the claim. I wish I had this article in January...
 

frobalt

New member
Jan 2, 2012
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In fact, you should use this kind of application whenever you want to discard old hard drives and your worried about someone nicking your CC number.

*you're

But to be more on topic: Microsoft should be held personally responsible for any information stolen from old xboxes simply because they see protecting themselves more important than protecting consumers.
 

FoolKiller

New member
Feb 8, 2008
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Aww... this is why I refuse to put anything half useful on the console. Hell....even the email I use is only for that purpose. I prefer to remain as anonymous as possible