This not only makes the man lazy, nor just stupid, but down right dangerous to anyone considering using his stores for any type of service. I would also second guess buying any reconditioned machines from the CyberPlace, and it would be up to you if you want a new machine from CyberShortcut.

It only took me a few seconds to find a hard drive degausser manufacturer, and verify my instinct from 20 years of computer and electronic experience. I quote the manufacturer from their web page (DATA DEVICES INTERNATIONAL):

"The HD-1 Professional Degausser is specifically designed to erase higher coercivity media, such as hard drives and DLT tape cartridges. The machine effectively erases all metal particle formats, including Beta SP, Beta SX, Digital BetaCam, D1- D5, Travan, and all 4mm and 8mm data cartridges. Please note that hard disk drives cannot be reused after they are degaussed, as the degaussing operation erases the servo tracks written on the drive at the factory."

If the context of the radio conversation had been "how to destroy a hard drive to ensure my data is safe" then his approach might make sense, but as you will see even that goal is missed. Unless he wasn't listening, the caller was planning on giving (or selling) the computer to someone else. Real nice, destroy the drive and give it as a gift.

In the early MFM and RLL drive days you had to do a true (servo track format using assembly commands in debug mode) low level format to even use the drive, but since the inception of IDE drives, most manufacturers will void the warranty if you attempt a "true" low level format of the drive. If you destroy the factory tracks, the factory won't warranty the product. If you degauss a drive, you would have to servo format it to have any hope of using it again. Not many technicians even have a clue about servo formating, much less the ability to do one.

From http://www.duxcw.com/digest/guides/hd/hd6.htm:

"There are a fixed number of servo sectors per track and the sectors are adjacent to one another. This pattern is permanent and cannot be changed by writing normal data to the drive. It also cannot be changed by low-level formatting (see below) the drive, as some may think. If it is changed, the drive has had it--kaput!"

To compound matters, degaussing doesn't even assure you of data security. As seen from this excerpt from the "Colorado (State) Data Destruction Policy"

"Degaussing

Degaussing is a process whereby the magnetic media is erased. Hard drives may become inoperable after degaussing. The degaussing method will only be used when the hard drive is inoperable or when the hard drive will not be used for further service. Please note that extreme care should be used when using degaussers since this equipment can cause extreme damage to nearby telephones, monitors, and other electronic equipment. Also, the use of a degausser does not guarantee that all data on the hard drive will be destroyed. Degaussing efforts will be audited periodically to detect equipment or procedure failures. The following standards must be followed when hard drives are degaussed"

You know, honestly,  I hate that my instincts to provide correct information is bound to come across like sniveling competitor rivalry. But honestly, if Panther Computers were to close doors tomorrow, I would never use CyberDuffus. I attack his blatantly obvious lack of any real substantive technical knowledge, but who can blame him. After all, his back ground was submarines in the Vietnam War (thank you for your service to our country), a journalist, and a theologist. How that translated to a computer miester only God knows. I suspect, like a barracks lawyer, that he was the smartest one in his group about the subject of computers.

If everyone else in the crowd is computer illiterate, and you know where the "any" key is, you're the expert. When you go to a town where someone has 20 years of real world programming, technical understanding, and business background....you're just as computer illiterate as the rest of crowd.

Now for part two of the CyberBlunder. Sony Entertainment has admitted to installing DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology onto computers that have played any one of about 20 music titles that they produced over the last few months. They have admitted fault, have discontinued making CDs with the technology for now, but have been slow to provide a true removal tool.

The CyberShow provided helpful information on this topic, but then turned to what hit me as an extreme knee jerk reaction to the news that hackers and virus writers are exploiting the Sony technology to cause harm to or take over portions of some computers. His answer - you gotta format the hard drive and fdisk it. AW GEEZ why not just degauss the hard drive while you're at it to be sure.

First off, if you have a virus and you've played music CDs on your computer, the two aren't necessarily connected. Next, most of the other shops in the NW Florida area won't even consider doing the Panther tune up. They will wipe your system clean (in fact CyberDude in a previous show said you should do this yearly) and reload it. Maybe your pictures, songs, and data was backed up first and restored, maybe they did it for you, but guess what. You may have backed up a copy of the virus or spyware too. If you have Word, Excel, Outlook, Power Point, or similar products...they can contain macro viruses and exploits

I have actually had a PC on my workstation for 6 weeks before. Why? Because I know that I can find the virus or spyware. I don't give up because it makes me stronger as a technician. Once I find it, it will take me a few minutes on every other PC I work on and I teach my technicians. Think about the loss, $65 for a tune up that took several attempts a day for 6 weeks. What's my hourly rate on that job? What kind of true customer service is that?

On the Sony ordeal. Let a trained, experienced, non-lazy technician look at your computer to CLEAN it, not WIPE it if you have symptoms of viruses or spyware. If you have minor indications, wait and watch the news for the eventual fix from either Sony, Microsoft, or the anti-virus crowd. Letting a radio show "War of the Worlds" ya into packing up your PC and hauling it to Pensacola (or Pace where it goes to Pensacola) and paying them to format or degauss your computer hard drive is plain panic. Either the CyberDude really is CyberScared from ignorance, or he's using scare tactics to beef up his wallet. Either way, "avoid the noid", be patient, a fix will be forthcoming.  And when it does, Panther Computers will be your best bet to get it solved.