Old Data - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

31 Mar 1998

At 05:58 PM 3/30/98 -0800, you wrote:
...
 I'm curious to know how people deal with old data
found on systems
they rescue/restore.  The question was put in my mind recently by 
The way I see it, if they want to make sure the data doesn't get out, they
need to delete files.  

But, I wouldn't take someone's personal spreadsheet of their monthly
finances and post it on the 'net, either.  

What I've done in the past is look at it, and then generally delete it.
Why?  Because it's generally boring as hell.  

Now, if I came across some Hubble stuff, and I knew how to use it/what it
meant, I'd probably hang on to that.  But only for my own personal
use/interest.

As I see it, when someone gives you a computer with data on it, they're
giving you the data as well.  However, they're not giving you license to
sell that data to the Weekly World News.

I'm working with Long's Drugs, a chain of pharmacies on the west coast.  If
I poked around in the store databases and told you that, say, Grace Hopper
was taking birth control pills, that would definitely be an invasion of
privacy.  (and would likely get me thrown in jail.)  However, there's
nothing wrong with telling you that there are 13 women who go to the
Serramonte store to get birth control pills.

Same thing with e-mail, word processing documents, spreadsheets and the
like.  If your buddy Joe gives you his old computer, you should go poking
around his old e-mail or wp files.  If, however, you get a computer from
company x that was used by employee y that you don't know, the data is only
statistical.  

I think generally, it's a moot point because it's usually too uninteresting
to keep around.  

--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-

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