Aug 23, 2019 Securely Overwriting Free Space. When you delete a file from the recycle bin in Windows, rather than deleting the actual file, the space the file is occupying is simply marked as free so that another file can come and use those blocks on your hard drive. Aug 21, 2013 The Mac OS X Disk Utility app provides an ability to erase free space on traditional hard drives, which overwrites vacant disk space on the drive to prevent any potential recovery of deleted files (that is, files that have been removed traditionally, rather than through secure methods). For most users this is an unnecessary procedure, but if.
After reading that title, you must be asking yourself: How will I delete hard drive space that is already ‘free’?
Mac Wipe Free Space App Games
Well, you might not know this, but once you delete any file from your Mac the usual way, the file actually remains there, only that it is no longer usable by your Mac. Then, when you add more files to your Mac, they ‘overwrite’ the space taken by those unusable files that you deleted previously.
What this means is that an advanced user who might come into possession of your Mac can actually recover files that you have deleted previously. Unless, of course, you delete them securely first.
For this, using the Terminal utility is perhaps the best way out, since it allows you much more control over what you are doing.
Important Note: Always remember to use Terminal ONLY when you are confident in what you are doing, since a simple mistake when using this utility can cause some serious damage to your Mac.
So let’s learn how to securely erase all that free space on your Mac’s hard drive with Terminal.
First, here is the Terminal command we will be using. Just keep it there for now, since you will need to slightly change it before proceeding.
diskutil secureErase freespace 1 /dev/disk0s2
This is because this command uses slightly different values for each Mac, so before using it on Terminal, you will have to find the exact values for your Mac first.
– The first value to change is the number ‘1’. You can actually choose between ‘1’, ‘2’ and ‘3’ here. Using number ‘1’ erases your disk’s free space using a random single pass (one ‘pass’ means that the system overwrites the deleted files once). Number ‘2’ uses a 7-pass secure erase and number ‘3’ uses a special algorithm to perform a huge 35-pass secure erase.
Obviously, the higher the number you choose, the longer the process will take. Usually, using numbers ‘1’ or ‘2’ should be more than enough to perform a safe erase.
– Now, the second value you need to know is the Identifier number of the disk where you want to perform the process. For this, open Terminal and copy and paste this command:
diskutil list
This will display a list of all your Mac’s hard drives. What you need to copy is the Identifier number beside your selected disk. In my case, I want to securely erase the free space on the disk with 120.5 GB, so its Identifier number would be ‘disk0s2’.
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With this information, you can now use the first command from above:
diskutil secureErase freespace 1 /dev/disk0s2
Just make sure to keep the number on ‘1’ or to change it to either ‘2’ or ‘3’ depending on how secure you want the erase process to be. Also, change ‘disk0s2’ to your hard drive’s own Identifier number. Once ready, press Enter/Return.
After you do, just sit back and watch Terminal do its magic securely erasing all your hard drive’s free space.
Mac Free Space WipeThe above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Also See#hard disk #terminalDid You Know
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by Shirly Chen, updated on 2017-03-12 to Mac Data Wipe
When you delete a file on Mac and empty the trash bin, the file is not permanently removed from your Mac hard drive. The deleted file is just hidden and store on the free disk space of the Mac hard drive till it is overwritten by other data. So, if you want to permanently delete sensitive data, you should erase the free disk space on Mac to permanently destroy the deleted/lost data on your Mac. And, erasing free disk space of hard drive will lead to a more clean/efficient Mac. In this article, we will show how to securely erase free disk space on Mac.
Free Mac Disk Space Data Erasure Software
Mac data erasure software can help you securely erase free disk space of hard drive or storage media under Mac OS. We have found the best Mac data erasure software for you, it is Super Eraser for Mac. This Mac data erasure software offers three modes to erase data including erasing free disk space.
Easily Erase Free Disk Space on Mac
With the help of Super Eraser for Mac, you can easily erase free disk space of Mac hard drive or storage media device. Just install Super Eraser for Mac on your Mac and launch it. It will show you three data erasure modes, just select 'Wipe Free Space', and select the hard drive you want to erase. Then click on Wipe Now button, Super Eraser for Mac will help you erase the free disk space of the selected hard drive to permanently erase deleted/lost data and history traces on the selected hard drive.
It will not affect the existing data on your hard drive or device.
If you are going to sell or donate your Mac/device, you’d better to permanently erase your sensitive data. Deletion or format can’t destroy your data because the deleted/formatted data is store in the free disk space and can be easily recovered by Mac data recovery software. Super Eraser for Mac can help you securely erase free disk space on Mac, erase Mac trash bin. It is the best solution to wipe free space of Mac hard drive, memory card, external hard drive, digital camera, SD card, USB drive, etc. All the deleted/lost data will be permanently removed from your hard drive or device.
Super Eraser for Mac also can help you selectively erase files/folders from Mac hard drive or storage media device. And it can wipe entire hard drive to wipe all data permanently.
Shred selected files/folders on Mac
DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac is able to selectively shred files/folders on Mac. It also can shred data from USB flash drive, memory card, digital camera, external hard drive, etc.
Wipe entire hard drive on Mac
This mode will erase all data on a hard drive, USB flash drive, memory card, digital camera, etc. All data on the hard drive will be permanently erased.
Free download DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac:
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