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Many Iowans have a computer on their holiday wish list.

If they’re lucky enough to get one, they’ll need to be careful when getting rid of the old computer. Some confidential information may be on your hard drive.

Computer data security is a key concern at Midwest Electronic Recovery in Clive.

The company has a portable grinder that goes to various companies to destroy hard drives and the data it holds. The company can also wipe the drive, by writing over data already stored on it.

But Iowa State University’s computer security expert Dr. Doug Jacobsen says, computers aren’t the only devices that store information.

“There’s sort of strange places where you wouldn’t think of data, large copy machines and large printers actually have hard drives in them. The little memory cards that come in your camera or USB drives, a lot of storage on those types of devices that people leave around,” says Jacobson.

He also says you can download free programs which can help you wipe the content on your hard drive.

Midwest Electronic Recovery can grind your drive for $10.