[applesseed]

So I got my replacement Tour because my previous Tour had some trackball issue. Prior to shipping out the old one this morning, I did a backup, and used two method of the following by "wiping" the Tour:

Options > Security Options > Security Wipe and checked box ALL items on the list

In addition, I connected the USB cable to my computer which then asked for the Tour's then-password. I input various strings of non-correct password so it "wipes" the Tour.

So my question is, how effective is the Security Wipe?

My concern is when I installed Pandora into my replacement Tour and launched the application, it was playing stations that I never put in there. I found out it was under a different email address, and therefore I suspect the previous owner did not wipe the Tour or something?

I spent days building my stations and I don't want to lose them. So I immediately changed my Pandora password.

On the other hand... I wonder if my old Tour still contains all my various handles and password and stuff even after doing the security wipe?

[zerog46]

Wirelessly posted (Tour)

NP worries. You're all good. They most likley did not perform a wipe.

[rambo47]

Not only does the Security Wipe erase everything, but it also overwrites all the previously used memory so it can't simply be uncovered.

When you delete files on a computer the system simply assigns the file name a "Q" prefix which makes the file invisible and tells the system to go ahead and treat that file as blank space. It gets overwritten when you fill up your hard drive enough so that the space that deleted file takes up is needed for new storage. Data recovery programs just find those "Q" files and rename them so they're no longer invisible. The BlackBerry Security Wipe goes the extra mile and does the overwrite of all those files. Then after they're overwritten it deletes them again. If they were recovered they'd just be jibberish.

[applesseed]

Thanks for the heads up - I was worried if my data were retrievable. Minutes after posting this thread, I sent an e-mail to VZW customer service. Within hours I got a reply saying this:

"... I apologize for the condition that your replacement Blackberry Tour was in when you received it. The device should have been more thoroughly cleaned prior to be being sent to you and I apologize that it was not. Secondly, the security wipe you performed will removal all personal data that you had loaded on your device. It removes all programs, deletes PIM data, and sets customizations back to factory standards. None of your data will be available on your previous device after a security wipe.


When were receive a defective device, we do reload the device software. Unfortunately, if the user had not done a security wipe prior to the software reload, certain application data will be retained on the device. This is why the incorrect Pandora profile was loaded when you loaded the application on your replacement."