Tablet and smartphone users should take caution when...

Tablet and smartphone users should take caution when using “factory resets” to erase personal data before trading, reselling or donating their devices, said software erasure and reuse company Blancco in a news release Friday (http://bit.ly/1q4Yolh). The London-based company cited a recent BBC article on factory reset flaws (http://bbc.in/1rdkMN2). Factory resets sometimes “simply remove indexes to the data, rather than deleting it, so that researchers using relatively simple tools could gain access,” said Blancco. “Consumers and businesses alike should make sure that a complete overwrite is performed with proven software, meaning they should research what processes their phone carriers or buy back and return programs are using,” said Kim Väisänen, Blancco managing director.