Jepsen
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen announced on Thursday that Staples Inc. has addressed his concerns about the sale of used and refurbished computers by changing its hard drive clearing process.
Jepsen closed the case based on the steps the Framingham, Mass.-based company has taken since he contacted them in June. Jepsen wrote to Staples after reading a report that more than one-third of the refurbished and used computers, USB flash drives and memory cards sold by Staples Canada continued to hold private customer information.
"I am pleased by the quick response by Staples to address the issue and in time for the holiday shopping season," Jepsen said. "I am assured the company's new procedures will clear the hard drive of refurbished computers before they are offered for re-sale."
Staples told Jepsen that its stores in Connecticut and across the United States only resell HP computers returned to the store within 14 days of purchase. The company does not sell other used storage devices or used computers. No issues similar to the ones experienced in Canada had been reported to Staples in the United States.
In response to Jepsen's concerns and its own interest in protecting computer security, Staples said that it has adopted a new, enhanced procedure for clearing used computers. The process is geared toward preventing even specialized software from accessing information of any previous user. Once the process has been completed, a store manager inspects the computer, verifies its status and signs a sticker placed on the box stating that the product was used previously and has been reset to its original factory settings.