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Double check that this is the thing you want to delete, then press enter. Then find the file that wont delete, and drag it to the Terminal window, and the path to that item should appear. Type in "rm -f " without the quotation marks, and with the space after the f. To delete a file using this method, first open up the Terminal, located in the Applications/Utilities folder. This method requires a bit of care, as making a mistake in the Terminal can result in things going horribly wrong. There are a few alternatives that perform many other tasks as well, such as OnyX (free).
#Secure empty trash mac os free#
One that is completely dedicated to it is Super Empty Trash, a free application with the sole purpose of helping you empty your trash. There are many applications available that allow you to force the trash to empty. Luckily this option seems to be more effective with stubborn files than the regular Empty Trash. Secure Empty Trash is normally used to make sure deleted items stay deleted by writing over them multiple times with random data.
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Go to the Finder Menu in the top left corner of the screen and choose "Secure Empty Trash" located right below the usual Empty Trash. You should be careful though if your Mac has SSD or SSHD drives because Better Trash's secure deletion feature might wear them down before their time.Probably the most simple solution, and almost always works. Simple to use and low-key Trash management app for MacsĪll in all, if you need an app to help you get rid of file deletion errors, securely wipe out your data or create a schedule for automated removal of deleted files, Better Trash is the way to go. If macOS stores the Trash folder on an SSD drive, you might wear it down before time because such drives have a finite number of writes for each sector.Įven though macOS already allows you to set the Trash to delete items older than 30 days, Better Trash's Auto Empty Trash goes even further by allowing you to customize the auto-empty frequency from daily to once every two months.įurthermore, you can configure Better Trash to empty the Trash automatically once a pre-defined amount of erased data has been reached, as well as set the app to launch on login and show an alert whenever the Trash is being emptied. It's critical to bring up the fact that, unlike Apple's Disk Utility app, Better Trash does not shy away from securely deleting files using overwrite on SSD or SSHD (hybrid) hard drives.
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Time or size based automated Trash emptying The Secure Delete feature makes it easy to completely and securely remove any document by overwriting it using US DOD's 7-pass standard to make sure that nothing can be recovered using specialized recovery tools. The Force Empty Trash option allows you to erase any locked or in use files in the Trash rapidly, helping you get rid of any errors you might get trying to remove data from your Mac's hard drive. Moreover, once launched on your Mac, Better Trash adds a status bar item with three options: force empty trash, secure delete, and auto empty trash. Force empty your Mac's Trash and securely delete any document If you ever wanted of managing the macOS Trash easier, a utility such FireeBook's Better Trash, an app specifically designed to help you force empty, secure delete and create a schedule to get it auto-emptied.īetter Trash is inconspicuous and simple to use utility which resides in your Mac's status bar ready to help you empty or erase your trash with just a mouse click.