530-677-8864
530-677-8864
Don't commit spoliation
Did he spell "spoliation" right?
Yes. I spelled that right. Because we live in a litigious society, I need to share my company's position on reformatting computer hard drives to repair a corrupted operating system or kill suspected malware. Cameron Park Computer Services no longer reformats hard drives. The potential exposure to accusations of spoliation is too great. I and my clients have never been hit with any accusation of spoliation, but seeing that I have been doing this since 1992, I better adopt this policy before the law of averages catches me (or my clients).
Call 530-677-8864 today for a $120 credit at Cameron Park Computer Services... you won't know how good we are until you try us (new customers only)!
What is "spoliation"? "Spoliation," in simple terms, is the intentional destruction of data. If you had pictures on your computer that were illegal and you felt you could wind up in jail for possessing them, you might hire a computer guy to intentionally erase them. If you get caught, both you and the computer guy could face accusations of committing spoliation.
One of my friends had a situation like this at a client site. He (my friend) spent seven hours on a witness stand discussing how he protects client data. Although I do not know how that trial ended, I do know my friend had a long day. It could happen to me and you. That's why I am adopting this policy (see below)...
"When faced with a virus clean up or operating system corruption, Cameron Park Computer Services will advocate replacing the computer's hard drive and reinstalling the operating system. After the operating system is reinstalled, the original hard drive will be kept at the client site and the client advised to keep the original hard drive indefinitely."
New drives are cheap. I recently installed a 500GB hard drive that cost $75. The client has a new drive, a fresh install of Windows, a fresh install of all applications and recovery of all important data. I know some people are saying "oh Mark doesn't want to kill viruses anymore." That is not the case. Rather, Mark doesn't want to create any unnecessary exposure for him or his clients. You may be frugal and right when you hire someone to kill a virus. You (and I) could also end up paying a lawyer $200-plus/hour defending us from a spoliation accusation. I would rather be safe than sorry here.
Mark Anthony Germanos. This is effective December 1, 2011.
Call 530-677-8864 today for a $120 credit at Cameron Park Computer Services... you won't know how good we are until you try us (new customers only)!