OldHammer

Q: trash

I can‘t find the option for the "Secure Empty Trash" in El Capitan. It used to be in the options of the finder. Now it‘s missing.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)

Posted on Oct 1, 2015 2:12 PM

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Q: trash

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  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Oct 1, 2015 2:21 PM in response to OldHammer
    Level 10 (122,600 points)
    Apple Music
    Oct 1, 2015 2:21 PM in response to OldHammer

    It appears Apple has changed the way the trash is emptied.

     

    Right or control click the Trash icon then right or control click a file then click:  Delete Immediately

     

    That removes the location and overwrites the file so it can’t be recovered ever by anyone.

  • by bren_nan,Solvedanswer

    bren_nan bren_nan Oct 2, 2015 1:33 AM in response to OldHammer
    Level 1 (117 points)
    Oct 2, 2015 1:33 AM in response to OldHammer

    Hi OldHammer,

     

    It seems as though there was an issue in this current OS release, and will possibly be addressed in a future OS update.

     

    For security reasons (per OS X El Capitan Security Content Release Notes):

     

    • Finder
      • Available for: Mac OS X v10.6.8 and later
      • Impact: The "Secure Empty Trash" feature may not securely delete files placed in the Trash
      • Description: An issue existed in guaranteeing secure deletion of Trash files on some systems, such as those with flash storage. This issue was addressed by removing the "Secure Empty Trash" option.

     

    Resource:

    About the security content of OS X El Capitan v10.11 - Apple Support

     

    Keep up to date on your software, as I'm sure this will be added back just as soon as Apple can find a fix to this issue and once they can ensure that "Secure Empty Trash" is able to actually securely place deleted files in the trash.

     

    Take care.

     

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    <Edited by Host>

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Oct 1, 2015 5:24 PM in response to OldHammer
    Level 8 (49,654 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 1, 2015 5:24 PM in response to OldHammer

    "Secure Empty Trash" is no longer available for sound reasons.

     

    Sensitive files ought to be considered sensitive from creation through deletion and everything in between. A document or file does not suddenly become sensitive the moment you decide to delete it.

     

    If you are working with sensitive files whose content must be secure from unauthorized access, use FileVault.