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Best way to transfer PC with old software to another person eliminating security concerns

I know someone that has a very old home PC with Windows Server 2003 (don't ask me why) that apparently runs yet another old software that controls some tech in his house. As he is moving soon, he wants to leave this PC behind for the new owners to use these features of the house, but have any personal info wiped besides this program. My concern is that even if I do a fairly good job of wiping personal info, giving someone else this PC poses a risk.

I tried to install this software on another PC (Windows 10), but ran into various compatibility issues, so I'm temporarily holding off on this solution, depending on what feedback I get here.

So right now, I'm entertaining a few options to eliminate access to personal info -

1. Create a new user profile on the existing PC, test to see if this software works under the new profile, then delete the old profile. (Concern would be any software that stores personal info within their software would still remain on the PC.)

1A. I may clone the hard drive to put it into a new PC so I can still fall back to the original setup should I accidentally break something.

2. Install an older OS (2003 or XP) on a new PC and see if I can get the software to work on that. No guarantee here.

Thanks for any thoughts.

David Johnson, CD

backup the system test restore onto new disk
buy a replacement disk, try a windows 10 install on the new disk AND the 'technology software' You have the installation media?

No installation media.. is this technology software tied to the computer or a user account (activation?)

try creating a test account and accessing this software.. does it work still?
if it works remove the older user account. do a secure wipe of unused sectors. (this could kill an aging disk, so beware (see the note about backup)

ste5an

When there is no obscure hardware involved, I would consider moving the system to a VM.

Dr. Klahn

Since the host operating system is now 20 years old, it's time to migrate the software to newer hardware. The issue is going to come up eventually, most likely suddenly, and temporizing is only going to make it worse.

It is certainly possible to make a backup copy of the drive, then erase it, then reload Windows, then reload the software and data. But then it's still a 20 year old operating system, far out of support, with numerous security holes that will never be fixed.

In this situation I'd step back from it and say "Look, either sell it to them with a disclaimer of warranty and/or responsibility, explain it to why it's insecure, and make sure they understand and sign off on it -- or pull the system out and shred it, because there's too much chance of personal liability. Speaking of which, I don't want to be involved in this as I'd get sued too."

rindi

I would forget about this. To use software you normally require licenses, & that stuff is really outdated & no longer supported. Rather, if the PC hardware allows, upgrade the OS, & get a new Software. Or get rid of that PC & replace it with something newer.

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serialband

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nobus

if you post the program's name, we could look for options to upgrade, or move it

skullnobrains

there are a few places to look

- data drives
- program files though software is not supposed to store data there
- registry keys relevant to software and profile
- user profile app data
- not bulletproof but rather exhaustive

beware that the software might be tied with the user profile. create a user and lauch it to be sure

once you cleaned up, you may want to remove tmp files, defrag, reboot, then create a huge file with random junk to fill the drive entirely to make sure any erased data is overwritten.

it would indeed be much better if you managed to reinstall on a separate possibly virtual host.

chances are copying the files over is sufficient to get it to work but you mayhave to grab drivers and registry keys as well.

ruhkus

ASKER

Thanks everyone for their input. A few additional comments - you are correct, serialband, that is an X10 system tied into HomeSeer. I do not know if newer versions would work with such a system, and buying software and OS setup just for the new homeowner isn't ideal either.

To clarify, I'm not as concerned with making sure deleted data is securely wiped. Rather, I'm worried about data that is stored in spots that I may overlook such as a credential manager. A simple example is that on this PC, I was able to check the browser history, find a link to his work e-mail, and the password was already filled in, so in 10 seconds I was looking at his e-mail.

I believe the software will work without the internet, so that should minimize any of those security risks, although a disclaimer to the new homeowner is not a bad idea, if I stick with the old OS.

My current plan is to clone the disk (backup), create a new user profile, make sure it works under that user, and if so, delete the old profile along with suggestions mentioned above. Using P2V to virtualize isn't a bad idea either, but I don't recall if free licensing allows this for a single VM.

serialband

Yes, that's why you create a new account, which will create a new profile. Then delete the old account to remove all the old profile data, then wipe with zeros.

fred hakim

You are on the right track.

Best case scenario is using a new user account (if it works with software) then deleting the old account (checkbox delete data). You can then use a tool like CCleaner to wipe the free space. Since it does not cost a lot of money for a tool to recover deleted files (many are free) -- do not skip the wipe free space step. .

If the software will not run under the new user, I'd try to get it working. There are a few likely places that the license keys and settings may reside within the old user directory and could be copied to the new user profile to get stuff working.

David Johnson, CD

its amazing how many other experts are echoing my original comment.