Have you ever deleted files on your Mac? You’d think it’s gone but it still resides in the Trash. What if you deleted it from there as well? Yes, it’d be gone this time but what about the bits of data that were stored physically on your hard drive? Well, though the space is made available for new data to be stored once you have emptied the Trash folder but still the bits may be stored in the original location until that space is occupied by some other files and those bits are overwritten.
Now, when you remove your hard drive to get it replaced or you sell or donate your Mac to someone else or just simply trash your hard drive, you put yourself at potential security risk that your data may be found by someone with bad intentions and may be abused by them as well. So, what do you need to do then? Well, you should go for the secure erase option before you do any of the above mentioned things with your hard drive.
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Secure Erasing The Drives
If you want to make sure that your sensitive information does not end up in wrong hands then the best option you have is to go for a “Secure Erase”. Usually, when people use Disk Utility for erasing data on their drive, they are only able to remove the files but their contents still remain on the drive. However, opting for “Secure Erase” option means that the drive is erased sector-by-sector and some data is written to each part. This way,your original data is erased from the drive and anyone looking to recover that data may not get an easy going.
The Secure Erase feature comes with several levels and each of these levels has different settings for Disk Utility to pass over the drive and write new data on it. If you are an average Mac user then single pass may do the job but if you have something of more sensitive nature stored on your drive then you should better go for an even robust option.
It is important to mention here that going for Secure Erase will require so much more time compared to standard erase. It may even take a few days if you have a massive multi-terabyte drive. However, this wait is worth it if you really have sensitive data stored on your drive.
How To Secure Erase External Drives
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Though the latest Mac devices are equipped with the Flash storage, still plenty of people use external hard drives these days. However, if the drive under question is accessible, it is possible to use Secure Erase feature on Disk Utility to get rid of all your data stored on the drive securely.
Here are the steps to follow:
- Go to Applications and then Utilities to launch Disk Utility
- Select your desired hard drive that you have to erase securely. If it’s accessible it will bethere in list of the available drives.
- Click “Erase” after selecting the drive
- This will open a pop-up window that that will prompt you to suggest the name of drive to be used once it has been erased. You will also have to tell how it should be formatted. You may change the name here but let all other default settings go like that.
- At the bottom of the window you will be able to find “Security Options”, click the button
- This will show another window that will tell ask you how thoroughly the drive should be erased. The option that is selected by default is the fastest possible option but it may leave some things behind and your data may be recovered using any data recovery apps. Here you can see a slider which gives different security options. So, slide it around and see what options do you have and then choose the best of them according to your needs. Usually, the options are as under.
- Option 1 (Fastest)–This option is selected by default and quickly erases the files from your drive but it’s not the most reliable option available. Data recovery apps can recover your files if you choose this.
- Option 2 –With this option, you can write some random data in one pass on your drive and in the next pass it writes zeroes all over your drive. The information used for getting access to files is erased and the data is written over twice.
- Option 3 –Here you can have 3-pass DOE-compliant erase. There are 2 passes in which the utility writes random data over your drive after which the next pass writes some known data on the drive. The information used for getting access to the files is erased and the data is written over thrice.
- Option 4 (Most Secure) –The last option is complaint to DOD’s 5220-22 M standard to secure erase magnetic media. Not just the information for file access is removed but the data is also written over 7 times, making it the most secure option available.
Which Secure Erase Option Is For You
From all the options described above, Option 1 provided by Disk Utility to remove data from your Mac is least secure. It won’t take a huge effort for somebody to recover data from the drive. Though Option 4 offers maximum security but many still believe it will waste a lot of time. So, it is better to stick to something in between and go for Option 2 or Option 3. Going for a greater number can also give you maximum surety, however, that your data is erased thoroughly and completely.
It goes the same for external or internal hard drives but you should ensure that when you are looking to erase a startup drive properly, you should first start Mac using some external media.
So, if you are concerned about security of your data more than anything, you can use the secure erase option offered by your Mac’s Disk Utility. It will help you ensure the data can’t be reproduced once it has been removed.