Improved security for shredders

[Joseph Meehan]

If you want even greater security for material you shred, I suggest two ideas.

#1 Always mix the material in the shredder and empty part of it into the trash, leaving maybe a third.

This will mean that unless someone gets your trash ever week, they are not likely to get a full document. I imagine that would be very frustrating. :-)

#2 Got a cat or dog? Add the you know what to the trash back with the shred. It would discourage me.

I do follow my first suggestion. Not that I really think I need to worry, but I do get a little smile thinking of the possibility of some homeland security team working weeks trying to figure out what is going on.

[hallerb]

cross cut shredders are muc more expensive, chop everything into little squares that would take days to reassemble.

i have a wealthy friend he shreds them then burns them. kinda overkill if you ask me.

I think for most of us security issues are overblown, true it could create a BIG hassle but wouldnt long term be anything more than that

[Searcher]

We burn all of our documents, not very hard to go out to the garden and sit around a nice relaxing evidence burn, errr, I mean document burn!!

searcher

[Bill Gill]

Well, that may be ok sometimes. Here in Oklahoma this last week end they finally lifted the burn ban that has been in effect since November. Kind of hard to burn your papers when you aren't allowed a fire of any kind (including outdoor barbecues).

Bill Gill

[Joseph Meehan]

I use a cross cut.

When working for the government we shredded them then sent them to be destroyed by either re-pulping in a paper mill or burned.

I agree about overkill for most of us. There is little anyone could profit from if they were able to access everything I throw away. Others make much more appealing targets. However there are incompetent crocks out there and they may think I am a good target and end up not getting much but causing me a lot of trouble; that is why I do shred.

[Beachcomber]

Remember the Iranian "Students" who kidnapped the US Embassy Staff and held them hostage in about 1979? They actually raided the embassy shredders (not cross-cut) and reconstructed what they said were CIA documents by pasting the strips together.

Expensive? I have a cross cut shredder that I bought at Target two years ago for $17. It still works...

Beachcomber

[Doug Miller]

Yes, I do remember. Notice that one of them is now president of Iran?

[gfretwell]

I just mix my shreaded material with kitchen garbage. If you want to sort through coffee grounds, potato peels, dirty diapers and chicken bones to see I have $57 in my checking account, go for it.

[Pop]

Not necessary here. Strip shred it, pull the trash bags, burn with the rest of the trash. If someone wants to steal it and piece together my last electric bill, they should have asked me! I have nothing to hide and know how to prevent identity theft. Not that I have anything to thieve. Or hide. It's no job to burn; we do it every weekend; saves a lot on the trash bills. Have a 2' x 4'H x 5' L incinerator; hardly ever even have any ashes in it, it burns so completely. It's called "Jaws"; if you can lift it, you can burn it!

Now watch the air quality fanatics come out of the woodwork!

Pop

[Tom]

I've heard people say, add it to your compost heap, well mixed in. This way the worms will eat it, and effectivly the material is completely distroyed.

Unless the worms talk?

;)

later,

tom @

[Joshua Putnam]

Why waste shredder output? It makes good garden mulch, and it's good for starting fires, barbecues, etc.

[Grandpa]

This might give you some impetus to do something about it:

[Elliott P]

You ALL should read this article:

It's about a guy who ripped up a credit card application that came in the mail, taped it up, sent it out and GOT THE CARD!! He even changed the address and phone number on the application and got it! It makes me want to by a cross cut.

[Norminn]

We have a cross-cut shredder, which cost less than $100 if I remember. For special documents, I put them through the shredder and then the kitchen sink with some hot water. Soak few minutes, run disposal. I dare anyone to find them :o)

[jtnospam]

There is another thread in this group that is discussing ways to dispose of old paint. Might I suggest that one pour it in among a large group of shreddings to dry out before trashing, take care of two problems at once.-Jitney

[hallerb]

what you do is crosscut shred everything twice, then burn it. take the ashes and mix with water and blend in a blender, then place blended mix in garbage disposal, ands be sure to flush toilet with you knowq what:)

Really theres so many ways to get info on you, paper is obsolete.

Use a wireless connection for your computer? Have good spyware on your computer, how about ALL the companies you deal with? Leaks can occur anywhere. A nosey bank custodian. How about the mail system.

Sure be careful with paperwork but the REAL leaks are high tech and out of your control:(

[mm]

That's not much money. Sounds like it is foreign made. The foreign made ones photograph each page before shredding them, the radio the pictures to stations they have set up around the US,and finally they are transmitted to their home country.

[mm]

I was thinking I would burn them and then shred them.

[Cue]

I burn them, shred them, put them through my wood chipper, and then beat them with a shovel. Then I move to a different country and change my name. Works every time.

[Random Netizen]

Ultimate security for shredding comes by buying a micro-cut shredder. They aren't cheap (around $1000 and up). We've got one at work, and it cuts paper into threads about

3/32" wide and 1/2" long. That means that each piece of paper is cut into nearly 2000 pieces! Once documents have gone through a micro-cut shredder, no amount of piecing together will recreate them. Imagine trying to put together a 2000 piece puzzle, when the pieces are incredibly tiny and in a box with a few hundred other, different, 2000 piece puzzles.

A micro-cut shredder is overkill for most home uses, but they're damn slick for high- security uses (government/military/etc).