The Paper Shredder:
No longer just for The Office
In the Age of High Tech Identity Theft, shredding your paper can be your least expensive and an almost totally brainless defense. Ask your primary-school aged child to feed the Bot, ask your mate for a Shred Date, or do a Shred the Weight (Fitness Shredfest) to your Favorite Music CD. The point is, whether home or office, private documentation including any sort of Tax-ID, S.S., and Work-Visa Info must be Shredded and money, time, or space will no longer be an issue!
As a young person in Southern California… I turned to a hand-crank, manually operated (non-electric shredder). Therefore, whatever your financial status and locale in the world, chances are you can afford some sort of shredder to fit your needs. What you will need to keep in mind is this simple rule: the less expense, the least number of papers and the least amount of (shredding) time you will be able to utilize.
Motor and bits will determine how many sheets of paper and the number of minutes a shredder can do it’s shredding. Unless you are a Government and know of no price or destination limiting your ability for the highest technologic advances, home/typical office shredders do get hot/overheat with use. If the average number of papers you force into your machine is three and rarely have a Credit Card, you will find your choices seemingly endless, for a modestly priced Paper Shredder.
If you truly on an unyielding budget as a undergraduate or young parent, perhaps purchasing a Paper Shredder for only paper (not over endowed for CD destruction and plastic charge cards) would be your best option. So, you will want to remove the metal staples and certainly any paper clips prior to shredding yet having any automated, machine shredder is safer than none.
As you await your purchase, slice all papers listing your Social Security Number, Name, Address, and Age, and Birth date and Birthplace into tiny strips of paper. You may always place these in a bag or box inside your filing cabinet or metal safe until they can be properly shredded, if in doubt.
Businesses outside the home or of high revenue should really consult their Insurance Carrier since many companies will have information on Identity Theft and current product lines.
Unfortunately, I cannot list any one specific Brand or Model number due to the discontinuance of products, high turnover, or marketing/model name changes.
Here are a few tips for the Professional/Business User:
An Industrial Shredder will cost half or more of the price that you would pay for an automobile! Amazingly, Industrial shredders are not only efficient with time, yet are infinitely helpful for those not so detail oriented. These shredders will list the sheet (number) Capacity, Speed (sheet feet per minute), and Horse Power, aside from physical dimensions. Many look like little robots hungry for your rubbish to be tossed in.
The highest tier in protection will not necessarily be as fast as the Industrial Shredders although the High Security Shredder may be less expensive and offer immeasurable piece of mind. In the United States, these High Security Shredders are classified by Security Levels. A reputable dealer will not try to sell anything under the term High Security if it does not meet with N.S.A./National Security Agency current standards. An example is the destruction of a Classified or Top Secret (8 ½ x 11) paper document into 15,500 minuscule particles, something unmistakably outside the realm of a desktop paper shredder from your corner stationary shop. These incredible machines will be listed and sold under warrantee as long as serviced per manufacturer instruction as an automobile, with regular tune-ups and yearly maintenance. Cross Cut, Micro Cut, and Super Micro Cut are descriptions of cut assortment. And, the security rating will fall under Level 5, to Level 6 your highest-level standard.
Clearly, I am as fascinated with Security as I am with Technology and the choice offered in modern shredders delivers both. Shredder Residue Dispersion Systems will advance the highest level of security from here.
by Europa Pirate
