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What it's rated to shred: Paper, credit cards, and staples The bottom line: While it’s a bit pricey, we think this shredder will make a lot of people happy with its shredding capacity, simple interface, lack of jamming, and safety features.Ĭontinuous run time/cool down period: 7 minutes/60 minutes A couple people found that the shredders didn’t work right out of the box, but because it’s a Staples product, they were able to return or replace it with minimal fuss. What users think: People who purchased this shredder were pleased with its performance. While they’re not the tiniest shreds we saw during our tests, that’s still small enough for you to feel confident that anyone would have a lot of trouble reconstructing any sensitive documents you shred.
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The micro-cut shreds from this shredder are about 10 mm long, and 4 mm wide. We also liked the cord management system, which allows you to wrap the cable up tight to minimize tripping hazards. Additionally, this shredder comes with a lock that, when activated, prevents the shredder from turning on at all. As for safety features, the TRU RED shredder has a vertical, narrow slit that is easy to access for shredding purposes, but looks to be too narrow to endanger the fingers of small children.
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On the other hand, while the shredding noise isn’t a high-pitched shriek, it’s a bit on the loud side. Fortunately, we never experienced a paper jam during testing in fact, we were pleasantly surprised by the way the shredding teeth remained clog-free, even after shredding about 50 sheets of paper in five minutes. It has a power button, a “forward” button, and a “reverse” button, both of which will help to get rid of a jam. The shredder’s controls are very basic, and we like it that way. While it’s one of the heavier shredders we tested (coming in at about 21 pounds), it doesn’t feel top heavy, and it rolls easily on four wheels, two of which have brakes. The TRU RED 12 Sheet Micro-Cut shredder lives in the sweet spot in the Venn diagram of “makes tiny shreds,” “large capacity,” and “doesn’t make a mess.” The bin has a capacity of 5.8 gallons and it can hold micro-cut shreds from more than 150 sheets of paper.Įverything about this shredder is easy to use. It was also able to shred a credit card, four staples, and a paper clip. It was also able to shred stacks of paper with thicknesses of 1 to 12 sheets without failing. This shredder was able to shred single sheets of paper continuously, without stopping or sending an error message, for five minutes. What it can shred: paper, staples, paper clips Who it’s for: People with higher security needs and some disposable incomeĬontinuous run time/cool down period: 10 minutes/40 minutes Destroying paperwork that could be considered 'sensitive' or could be used to piece together an identity is needed in every home and office." "A shredder is an essential appliance," he said, "just like a washing machine or a dryer. Robert Siciliano, a Security Analyst with VPN provider HotSpot Shield says paper shredders are vital to maintaining identity security. But what do you do in the real world, where you still get credit card solicitations, bank statements, and medical bills on paper? Simple: You buy a paper shredder, like our favorite TRU RED Micro-Cut Shredder ( available at Staples). In the digital world, we count on antivirus software, two-factor authentication, and other identity theft-prevention measures to keep us safe from fraud.
#Privacy guard shredder manual portable#
Who doesn't love being able to pay for gum at the gas station with a tap of a phone, or buying a couch while waiting in line for a burrito? While the advent of smartphones, laptops, and other portable devices have made us more connected and taken the hassle out of a lot of boring tasks, it's also opened us up to previously unknown risks, including identity theft. The digital age is all about two things: convenience and accessibility.
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