Be Cautious When Buying Refurbished Gifts

A mother in Fort Worth, TX got more than she bargained for when she purchased a used, but supposedly refurbished memory card from Gamestop. According to a story from the local NBC news, her son discovered that the Sony PSP memory card contained pornographic photos and video clips. Gamestop claims that all refurbished items are supposed to go through a process to erase existing data and they are investigating to determine how this could have occurred. As you shop this holiday season, you might purchase items that are used and 'refurbished', or you might purchase an item which has obviously been used, but returned to the store. Before giving it as a gift, you should examine it to make sure it is fully functioning and does not contain any data from its prior life. This includes desktop and notebook computers, portable hard drives, USB flash memory drives, SD or XD memory cards like those used in digital cameras, and even PDA's and cell phones. If it has not been properly erased it could contain viruses, worms, spyware or other malware. If you are returning a computer or mobile device, or selling one or even just throwing it away, follow the advice in Prepare Your Hard Drive For Disposal to make sure it is properly cleaned first.