PSA: Scrub your gaming console's memory before selling

by Griffin McElroy on Jan 21st 2010 4:00PM

Usually, when we label a headline as a "PSA," it's in a joking manner; say, "PSA: Bacon is delicious, good for you." However, we're pretty sure this post constitutes a legitimate public service announcement: Ars Technica recently published an article that the frequent trade-in-ers among us should probably read. In short, if you're not erasing your consoles' hard drives before trading them in, there's a pretty good chance you could be robbed blind. (Or at least robbed astigmatic.)

Seriously, if you're thinking about trading in or pawning one of your gaming consoles sometime soon, follow the helpful tips provided in the Ars piece. They'll ensure that you don't accidentally leave your credit card information in the system's memory for its next owner to exploit. You also don't want to leave your Avatar, Mii or PlayStation Home account on there, either. That's how e-stalkers get started, donchaknow.

Source

Tags: fraud, gamestop, hardware, identity-theft, memory, Microsoft, Nintendo, pawn, psa, safety, trade-in, Wii, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (46)

It seems obvious, but I know a lot of people sell their profile with the console to raise the value of the hardware.

Yeah, not in a store, but it does jack the price up on eBay depending on the profile and the downloadable content on said console.

@Ben

..yea, about that.

sorry.

Just don't erase your Pokemon game before you trade it in. That way I only have to start it over twice to get all of the starters.

I was without a computer for a little while, so nude photos my girlfriend sent me are still saved on my Wii. Definite memory-scrubbing before the sale of that one.

Nude photos in 480p? Such a waste.

@ machineee

Wanna exhange friend codes?

hey guys did i point out i have NUDE PHOTOS of a GIRL

I think I speak for everyone when I say; Pics or it didn't happen.

then we need a live action video of said girlfriend having birth to a baby in order to confirm that she is indeed.. a she.

@vcize

Perhaps 480p is an improvement. Nintendo's version of beer goggles.

Here's one of her fully-clothed:

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/9/2010/01/500x_1.jpg

That's what I thought.

Oh, sweet, baby Jesus...

Biir Goggles.

It's probably not that necessary to do it on the Wii, since that console is too backwards to save any info, or have profiles anyways. Sure, I sound bitter, but man, that thing reminds me of the crappy ways in which cell phones would handle that stuff. What's worse is, is that you can link an account to the store... but it doesn't actually make a difference, other than giving you coins in Club Nintendo :/
Frigging Nintendo.

That's funny, considering everything is saved to the internal memory.

Everything you put on it is saved. Any purchases you make are also saved.

I mean, the credit card info isn't saved. Your purchases aren't tied to any sort of account, you can't migrate it to a new Wii unless your current Wii breaks, and you send it in to Nintendo to do the transferring themselves. It's super safe... and backwards!

My purchases are tied to my account. Just because you can't migrate them over to a new machine doesn't mean they aren't.

Yes, I agree it should be able to do that, but just because it doesn't save your credit card doesn't mean it doesn't save anything else to an account.

Everything else is saved to the system. Your emails, your pics, your games. If someone buys your system, and you don't clear it, they have access to your games and emails. You should wipe it before that.

I guess people don't have common sense these days.

NO SHIT

What was so maddening about this is that Microsoft didn't even let you remove old credit card data until somewhat recently.

No kidding, really? That seems like a really bad idea!

They still don't if it's tied to your Gold subscription, you have to call them and request it be removed and it takes at least a week to do.

That's....tragic?

Thank God I have no such dirty pics or vids on my consoles or computer. I don't do that.

What?
I don't...why won't you believe me!!!

i definitely don't believe it.

storing is so last year.
streaming is where its at.

@greatsam

nothing is wrong with porn, just because mommy and daddy told you that doesn't make it true.

A dirty mind? Thinking about sex isn't dirty. It's perfectly natural.

@greatsam

eh, if you are willing to say i have issues for watching something that you clearly have never seen, then you are ignorant.

I actually don't have any saved pics or anything; that's what streaming is for. ;)

what the hell is wrong with this reply system today.

anyways, i posted like 2 comments that still havent showed up, vote me down if they pop up after this.

@sam, if overworking your heart is your main concern about sex, then you must have never heard about STDs, or you are an 80 year old man.

Sex is no different than an active aerobic workout, you aren't going to see a permanent increase in blood pressure because you have sex once a day.

Whoever told you that is an uneducated douche, but then again, you have a chastity ring, so it was most likely the catholic church telling you that (not surprising).

i would never think of having any of that on my computer or console's hard drive
an 8GB flash drive on the other hand, is my best friend

@Brian

Chastity or purity rings are largely found in non-denominational Christian circles more than Catholic circles so I find it strange that Catholic-bashing was your first instinct. Furthermore, you obviously have no knowledge of Catholic sexual ethics, so it would appear that someone in this comment thread is indeed ignorant AND ALSO hypocritical. . . .

I'd say it was a pretty good guess considering that is where it originated from, and as a previous catholic im pretty sure i know just as much about it as anyone else.

And please, thats exactly the churchs stance on sex and porn, they are both illegal, but if you are married sex is ok, porn is still the devil.

also, condoms are bad.

What the duce?.... man about 200+GB of my 500GB hdd in my PS3 is porn, and thats only half of the collection playa......real talk.

@manaman - I being a Christian (just not of the Catholic demonination) am fairly certain that Catholics themselves don't have "full" knowledge of Catholic sexual ethics. I am sure many altar boys can attest to that.... just saying.

I'd like to thank the gentleman that returned the used Wii that I purchased. He didn't erase the internal memory, and the girl at the checkout counter couldn't figure it out, either. Turns out the guy had bought $50+ of virtual console games (good ones). I politely erased his credit card info and account info from Wii Shop Channel, and am enjoying the fruits of his labor. So, thank you, kind sir!

i commend you for erasing the previous owner's credit card information.
not many people would be as ethical as you.

kudos.

most people who probably have bought out the entire store.

Pretty much common sense, really. Consoles are no different from any other piece of computing equipment you use that might have collected personal or financial data over the years.

It must have been kind of an awkward moment when he got around to that 200gb in his video will.

Dear Joystiq:

PLEASE stop shoehorning a joke into every single news post. Often it's there, other times, it just hurts to read.

I need a shoehorn =(

..it seems the end to the story is missing here. He died and then....

well luckily, i won't be selling my PS3. I thought about that when I considered selling my 60GB at first, then I realized how many digital games I had purchased and stayed broke until I found a job.

So you mean EVERY guy born on this planet with a spare 200 gigs?

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PSA: Scrub your gaming console's memory before selling

Reader Comments (46)

Posted: Jan 21st 2010 4:02PM (Unverified) said

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