These all contain copies of your most sensitive information, which can be read by anyone. Can Still Be Read . You don't want anyone reading your mail, whether it's paper mail or e-mail. However, you should realize that your e-mail is stored on your computer just like your other files. Formatting Hard Drives Does Not Delete Data .
Many people misunderstand what happens when a drive is formatted.
It's true that when you format a drive, the information tables containing the logical structure of the files are destroyed, but the data inside your files isn't. This means it's still possible to read the contents of the files. Defragging Hard Drives Does Not Remove Deleted Data . Finally, in order to get at hard drive space that contains information and was not shredded previously, you can run Drive Zapper. This will shred all free space on your hard drive without touching used spaced.