To secure erase the iMac's HDD I first needed to break the Fusion Drive into its constituent parts using Terminal. A Fusion Drive is a logical volume group utilising Apple's CoreStorage technology. Fusion Drives can be managed from the Terminal using the diskutil command followed by cs and the appropriate action. So is there a way to securely delete files on Mac forever? Don't worry; we'll give you more options on how to securely delete files on Mac that no one can still recover, ever! Find out the steps below: Manually Erase Files on Mac. This is the basic way to delete the files from Mac. Secure Erase is a data sanitization method that uses a set of commands available from the firmware on ATA based drives to overwrite all the information on your SSD. Which can be applied to Windows, Mac.
What is secure erasing a file on Mac?
Secure erasing a file is removing the file completely from your Mac. What this means is, is that a file that is securely erased cannot be recovered by you or any third-party applications; it's the ultimate way to completely get rid of files.
See, when you typically empty the Trash, you're just deleting the access point to the file. Think of it like… a file is written on paper (your Mac) in pencil, and you erase the file with an eraser — You can still see the marks that were made on the paper! But, when you secure erase, you rewrite gibberish over the original pencil marks, and then erase it: there's no way to read it (it can't be recovered)!
So, there are two ways we can securely erase a file: one is via a Mac utility with a secure eraser and the other is with the Trash.
How to securely erase files using the 'rm' command
Previously, you could securely delete files on your Mac using the 'rsm' command in Terminal. Apple has eliminated this option with the introduction of the macOS Sierra. But, there is still a way to safely delete files using the 'rm' command.
Firstly, you need to enable some settings in System Preferences.
- Open System Preferences (Apple menu > System Preferences)
- Select the Keyboard.
- Go to the Shortcuts tab.
- Enable New Terminal at Folder and New Terminal Tab at Folder.
Now, you need to go to Finder and find the folder that stores the file you want to delete securely. Right-click it and choose New Terminal at Folder. Now the Terminal window should open.
Microsoft office for mac phone number support. In the Terminal window:
- Enter
rm -P PrivateFile.txtcommand, but instead of 'PrivateFile' use your file name. Instead of 'txt' use the extension your file has. - Press Enter.
And your file is gone!
How To Wipe A Mac Hard Drive
How to securely erase files with CleanMyMac X
CleanMyMac X has a secure eraser called the Shredder. It makes it incredibly easy to securely erase files. With CleanMyMac, all you have to do is:
- Download CleanMyMac X and launch it.
- Click Shredder.
- Select your file with 'Select Files…'
- And click Shred.
And that's how you securely erase files with a secure eraser like CleanMyMac X. Plus, CleanMyMac X has a bunch of other features that help you keep your Mac clean and up to speed. Download CleanMyMac X and see what a difference it makes on your Mac right now!
How to securely delete files on flash drives/SD cards
macOS comes with a built-in feature that allows you to erase your flash drive, SSD, or SD card. To start, you need to connect your drive to your Mac. Then, follow the instructions:
Secure Erase Mac Drive
- Open Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility).
- Select your drive in the External category on the left. Make sure you don't erase your internal hard drive. It contains all your data and you won't be able to restore it once erased.
- Click the Erase button.
- Type a name for your drive and choose a format. Apple recommends using ExFAT format.
- Press Erase to confirm. If you drive is successfully erased, you should see a message like this:
Safely erase multiple files using an encrypted disk image
Disk images (.dmg) provide a secure way to store and share your private files. You can store your disk image in any cloud storage, on your Mac or external hard drive. And given the fact that you can encrypt the disk image, no one will be able to access your data.
If you want to delete multiple sensitive files and data in one go, you can use a disk image as well. You'll need to create an encrypted .dmg file and transfer your files there. Then, you can lock the disk and delete it, making your data unrecoverable for anyone. Here's how to do that step-by-step:
- Open Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility).
- Go to File, select New Image, then, Blank Image.
- Type your disk name in the Save As field. Make sure to add the .dmg extension.
- Type size and choose format.
- Select the Encryption method. Apple recommends the first method (128-bit AES encryption).
- Provide a password to encrypt your disk image and press Choose.
- And press Save.
Now you can drag and drop the files you want to delete to the disk image. Then, right-click the disk image and press Eject to lock it.
Move this disk image to the Trash and you're done. Though your files are now in the Bin, no one can access them without your encryption key. Empty the Trash to let your sensitive files be gone forever!
How to securely erase files on Mac OS X
It's not difficult, but it does take some time. Just remember that when you securely erase a file, it will take a bit longer than if you were to normally empty your Trash. To secure erase files in the Trash, just:
- Control-click on the Trash icon in your Dock, at the bottom of your screen.
- Press the Command button.
- Click Secure Empty Trash.
- And again, select Secure Empty Trash.
These instructions work with OS X Yosemite. Secure Empty Trash feature isn't available since the El Capitan OS X update. If you are running an older version, instead of pressing the Command button in step 2, you might have to press Ctrl or Alt/Option.
Secure Erase Macbook
But again, secure erasing files is even easier with CleanMyMac X. There's no holding buttons or deleting one file (or all the files) at a time. Just select or drag your file(s) to the Shredder and click Shred. Voila — That's it! Plus, CleanMyMac X does so much more than just securely erase files. It helps you clean your entire Mac, run basic Mac maintenance, monitor its hardware health, and even completely uninstalls apps. Download for free now and see what a difference it makes on your Mac.
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If you are about to sell your Mac or are planning to give it away to someone, make sure you have taken all steps to securely erase all data on Mac and know how to properly reset a Mac before selling it. Read this simple guide that details how to clean all private data from a Mac and secure your privacy.
Before you sell off your Mac or give it away to someone, it is important to follow some basic steps to ensure that your personal data that currently resides on the Mac does not fall into the wrong hands. You may think that you have deleted sensitive files and emptied the Trash can on your macOS hard drive, but the reality is that there are tons of places where your Mac stores important and sensitive information about you and your data. When you want to sell or give away any Mac, you must understand how to completely reset a Mac.
Step I — Take a Backup
Ideally, you should be taking regular backups of your Mac irrespective of whether you are selling your Mac or not. Our data is very valuable, and any data loss could prove disastrous in most cases. But if you are the adventurous kind and keep testing your luck, we highly recommend taking a backup of your Mac before you sell it.
Knowing how to take a full backup of a Mac is critical in ensuring that you can recover any important file in the future. There are several different ways in which you can take a backup of a Mac, but these are some of the methods of backing up a Mac that we recommend.
These might also interest you:
If you are about to sell your Mac or are planning to give it away to someone, make sure you have taken all steps to securely erase all data on Mac and know how to properly reset a Mac before selling it. Read this simple guide that details how to clean all private data from a Mac and secure your privacy.
Before you sell off your Mac or give it away to someone, it is important to follow some basic steps to ensure that your personal data that currently resides on the Mac does not fall into the wrong hands. You may think that you have deleted sensitive files and emptied the Trash can on your macOS hard drive, but the reality is that there are tons of places where your Mac stores important and sensitive information about you and your data. When you want to sell or give away any Mac, you must understand how to completely reset a Mac.
Step I — Take a Backup
Ideally, you should be taking regular backups of your Mac irrespective of whether you are selling your Mac or not. Our data is very valuable, and any data loss could prove disastrous in most cases. But if you are the adventurous kind and keep testing your luck, we highly recommend taking a backup of your Mac before you sell it.
Knowing how to take a full backup of a Mac is critical in ensuring that you can recover any important file in the future. There are several different ways in which you can take a backup of a Mac, but these are some of the methods of backing up a Mac that we recommend.
Backup Method 1 — Time Machine
Time Machine backups are the simplest and quickest way to back up your Mac. Apple bundles the Time Machine utility by default in macOS, so as long as you have any external hard drive that is greater than or equal to in capacity to your Mac, you can be up and running with a Time Machine backup in no time.
Backup Method 2 — Bootable Backups
Although Time Machine is a great way to backup your Mac, it does not create a Bootable backup of a Mac. So if your Mac fails to boot, you'll have to first reinstall macOS and then restore the Time Machine backup, which takes up a lot of time. To get around this, we recommend creating Bootable Backups of your Mac using apps like SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner.
Backup Method 3 — Cloud Backup
No matter how many local backups you take, using Time Machine or third-party apps, you still stand the risk of losing these backups in case of physical damage to the drive. In such cases, where your data is important enough that you seek data redundancy, we recommend Cloud Backup solutions like Backblaze. Services like Backblaze backup your computer to the cloud, so you can access your backups from anywhere and restore them whenever you want.
Step II — Sign Out of iCloud, iTunes, and Other Accounts
Before selling off your Mac, you must sign out of any iTunes and iCloud accounts that you are currently logged in with. This includes services like the Mac App Store, iTunes Store, Apple Music, iCloud Photos, Mail, Calendar, iMessages, and on newer versions of macOS Catalina, also includes Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, etc.
Make sure that you sign out of each of these services before you format your Mac. One place that is fairly obvious but one that is missed by several people is at System Preferences → Internet Accounts. Ensure that you are signed out of all the accounts listed here.
Step III — Format Your Macintosh HD using macOS Recovery Mode
Simple reinstalling macOS on your Mac before selling it is not enough. All that does is reinstall the System files and gives you a fresh copy of the OS, and in most cases (depending on the options chosen by you), leaves user files untouched. To clear all personal data from a Mac before selling it, you must first reformat the Mac using macOS Recovery Mode and then install a copy of the latest version of macOS. Here's a simple guide that explains how to format the Macintosh HD using macOS Recovery Mode.
- Click on the Apple Logo at the top left of your screen and then click on Restart.
- Press and hold down the Command and R keys simultaneously while your Mac boots up.
- Your Mac will boot into the Recovery Mode that is pre-installed on most modern versions of macOS.
- Select Disk Utility from the window that appears, then click on Continue.
- In the Disk Utility window, click on the View dropdown at the top left, then click on Show all Devices.
- Click on the Startup Disk that you want to format.
- Click on the Erase icon in the toolbar.
- Give your drive a name, and select the APFS of HFS+ format depending on which Mac you have.
- Click Erase to begin formatting the drive.
- Once the process is complete, you can quit Disk Utility.Now that you have formatted and erased the default drive, you can go ahead and reinstall macOS on a Mac.
Step IV — Do a Clean Installation of macOS
After you have erased and formatted your internal drive in Step III, let us now take a look at how to do a clean install of macOS on a Mac before selling it.
Before we proceed with the steps below, ensure that:
- You are connected to the internet.
- Your Mac is connected to a reliable power source. If you have a portable Mac, please connect it to a charger.
Now, let's see how to do a clean install of macOS:
- If you have followed the steps detailed above, then you will already be in the macOS Recovery Mode. Once you quit Disk Utility, you will see the same screen with the option to Reinstall macOS or Reinstall OS X. Select this option, then click on Continue.
- Select the internal drive that you want to install the latest version of macOS on.
- Click Install to begin the clean installation of macOS.
- Once the installation process is completed, your Mac will automatically reboot.
- After reboot, you will see the setup instructions. Hold down the Command & Q keys to quit the setup process.
Since you are selling your Mac or giving it away to someone, it's best to let them go through the setup process after a clean installation of macOS, so that they can choose their own Administrator username, passwords, and other details.
Once you have followed these four steps details here, your Mac is ready to be sold off. Where is the alt key on a mac keyboard.
