Ariel Y

Q: after updating , can't secure the trash

after updating the system to 10.11.4, can't find "secure the Trash", only see empty the trash...

 

how to set it up? or the option gone?

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

Posted on Apr 22, 2016 12:09 AM

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Q: after updating , can't secure the trash

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  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Apr 22, 2016 12:13 AM in response to Ariel Y
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    Apr 22, 2016 12:13 AM in response to Ariel Y

    The option is gone.

  • by Eau Rouge,

    Eau Rouge Eau Rouge Apr 22, 2016 12:14 AM in response to Ariel Y
    Level 4 (2,995 points)
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    Apr 22, 2016 12:14 AM in response to Ariel Y

    Apple removed the option to Secure Empty Trash and Erase Free Space in Disk Utility.

    Mainly because SSDs don't take kindly to being overwritten many many times.

    They still support it in in Mavericks, Yosemite etc, interesting.

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Apr 22, 2016 12:17 AM in response to Eau Rouge
    Level 5 (6,386 points)
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    Apr 22, 2016 12:17 AM in response to Eau Rouge

    Eau Rouge wrote:

     

    They still support it in in Mavericks, Yosemite etc, interesting.

    Well, they aren't likely to rewrite them.

  • by Eau Rouge,

    Eau Rouge Eau Rouge Apr 22, 2016 12:36 AM in response to dialabrain
    Level 4 (2,995 points)
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    Apr 22, 2016 12:36 AM in response to dialabrain

    I don't expect them to rewrite them, but they could update their Mavericks/ Yosemite support pages to include information

    on why using secure empty trash and erase free space may not be a good idea.

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Apr 22, 2016 12:49 AM in response to Eau Rouge
    Level 5 (6,386 points)
    Mac App Store
    Apr 22, 2016 12:49 AM in response to Eau Rouge

    They could. You could always send them feedback.

     

    Speaking of not a good idea, has Apple ever said that's why secure empty trash was removed or is that just conjecture?

  • by chroot,

    chroot chroot Apr 22, 2016 12:56 AM in response to Eau Rouge
    Level 4 (1,099 points)
    Apr 22, 2016 12:56 AM in response to Eau Rouge

    Secure deletion methods are unreliable on flash storage and solid disk drives.  The storage itself and how the operating system handles garbage collection means the storage is much more fluid.  It's possible secure removal will overwrite the incorrect areas.  It's both unreliable and reduces the life span of your SSD.

     

    $ srm -rfv ~/.Trash

     

    However, unless you have an old HDD with magnetic spinning disks called platters as opposed to an SDD then this isn't needed.  If you are really that concerned about secure removal then enable FileVault--then your trash and removed trash is encrypted.

  • by Eau Rouge,

    Eau Rouge Eau Rouge Apr 22, 2016 1:04 AM in response to dialabrain
    Level 4 (2,995 points)
    Mac App Store
    Apr 22, 2016 1:04 AM in response to dialabrain

    As they decided to no longer include it in El Capitan, they could have added footnotes in the Mavericks/ Yosemite support pages.

    The Yosemite page was last updated on the 23 Sept 2015, 7 days before El Capitan was launched, Apple decided

    Secure Empty Trash was detrimental to the longevity of SSDs and would not be an option in future OS's, so a simple update to their Support

    pages to include these findings would be helpful, after all our Hardware did not change overnight with the introduction to El Capitan.

     

    Anyway I've got to go home for tea now. bye.

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Apr 22, 2016 1:30 AM in response to Eau Rouge
    Level 5 (6,386 points)
    Mac App Store
    Apr 22, 2016 1:30 AM in response to Eau Rouge

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

    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.

    Apparently their decision had nothing to do with "being detrimental to the longevity of SSDs".