Deleting ... files? how to do it!!

[JoJo]

Hey guys, im trying to perminatly delete files and programs, mainly whats in my trash but also older programs i dont use, is there a program that will delete every last thing from my computer that ill have nothing left to see that there was any proof of that stuff being on the computer? also is there any programs that could speed my mac up? thanks alot i need help!!

[baseballboy828]

You can erase all traces of items by moving them to the trash, clicking the Finder menu, and hitting Secure Empty Trash.



You can speed up your mac a little by using a maintenance such as Cocktail ($14.95) or OnyX (Free). Generally speaking however, no software can make a huge speed difference unless something is wrong with your system. Hardware, such as a RAM upgrade, will make a much greater impact.

[notabadname]

Correct me if I am wrong BBB, but Secure Empty will only securely delete current trash that has never been "emptied" before. If you have never used it before, and your trash can is empty, the "Secure Empty Trash" will be grayed out. You can't make it seek out "old" deleted trash and write over those files - correct? Or to put it another way, items that had been emptied in the trash in the past, could still be recovered (assuming they haven't been written over by other storage/write operations).

So any future trash emptying with the "Secure" method will "permanently erase - 35 pass overwrite" those particular items in each delete operation, but if there are older files that you have only used Empty Trash (not Secure Empty Trash) to delete files before, free disk space will still be on your hard drive. To erase all free disk space, and thereby remove all traces of files that you deleted previously using the Empty Trash feature, you should use the Macintosh Disk Utility feature (located in the Applications folder) to remove this space

If you want to be sure to remove those older trash files, go to this good link and follow the instructions carefully that are halfway down the page under "How to use Secure Empty Trash". This nicely explains how to securely write over all empty disk space "Erase Free Space" on your hard drive (which would include previously deleted files).

If you do this, take their advice and do the 7 pass erase, not the 35 pass (unless you are deleting the U.S. Nuclear Launch codes). Otherwise, it is going to be a loooonnnngg wait

The Link: http://www.udel.edu/pnpi/tools/erase...rasefiles.html

[baseballboy828]

notabadname is correct, Secure Empty Trash will only securely erase items in the trash. This is only good for items you still have that you want gone. If you have items that were previously deleted using the regular Empty Trash, the Erase Free Space method he mentioned is right. Here's how you would do it:

1. Open the finder, navigate to your Applications>Utilities folder and open Disk Utility.
2. In disk utility, click on the partition/drive you keep your data on. By default, it will be called Macintosh HD.
3. Click the "Erase Free Space..." button.



4. Choose the 7-Pass Erase option.
5. Click "Erase Free Space"



Disk Utility will never overwrite your deleted files with 0's 7 times. The extra 6 times ensure that it is done completely and securely. This may take a while, so I suggest doing it overnight. Keep in mind the time this takes is directly proportional to the size of your hard drive. The larger the drive, the longer it will take.

In the future, use Secure Empty Trash after putting sensitive files in the trash to erase them permanently. Disk Utility can erase the files you deleted normally in the past.

[JoJo]

Thanks ALot guys your a big help