How do I find hidden file caches on a macBook Pro and securely delete them.

Caches are required by the operating system so they will come back even if you delete them.

If you want to use Terminal:

$ sudo rm -rfv /Library/Caches

$ rm -rfv ~/Library/Caches

These will remove the caches--but then they will come back so there's really no reason to remove them in the first place. If you're having a cache issue boot into safe mode instead.

😉

A good rule of thumb is to NOT delete anything unless you are sure you don't need it.

Caches are created and updated automatically by the system, and in most cases should be transparent to the user.

Unless you have a specific problem - in which case you should explain it in detail - I suggest you don't worry and just use your mac. It is supposed to care for these details behind the scenes for you.

RainMayker wrote:

How do I securely delete or zero write files that havent been deleted and are hiding in my computer some where.

I apologize if I dont make much sense, it is difficult for myself to articulate what I mean.

Just don't. You are trying to mess with files that are hidden for a reason - so that users do not accidentally delete them and render their computer inoperable.

Stop worrying and do not cause yourself harm by messing with things you don't know about.

You are trying to gain a few MB or GB of space, but in the process you may be bricking your system.

You should not be removing anything outside of your home directory. The problem with Diskdrill is that it shows you all the image files in the entire operating system, and gives the illusion that you can just whack that 21.5 GB of images to free up space. If you fall into that trap, you will spend time reinstalling OS X, private Frameworks, and Applications that contain images within them. A dangerous tool in naive hands.

I never post in the community, privileged (including recursive) file and folder removal commands to use in the Terminal, and especially those used against System targets. There have been many posts in the communities about someone that saw a Terminal command on the Internet, and dutifully applied it without comprehension of its power, or purpose, only to have encountered significant issues for their trouble. These posts are archived by Google, so the audience will be the entire Internet.

Once a month, as purposeful administration, I perform a Safe Boot that clears System caches, rebuilds font and other databases, and verifies the boot drive. Otherwise, I don't care about System or User caches, preferring to spend my time performing useful work.

...There have been many posts in the communities about someone that saw a Terminal command on the Internet, and dutifully applied it without comprehension of its power, or purpose, only to have encountered significant issues for their trouble.

Good insight.

And I'm so stealing that quote.

RainMayker wrote:

How do I securely delete or zero write files that havent been deleted and are hiding in my computer some where.

If you are concerned about people having access to your computer and uncovering your deleted files, then you should just turn on FileVault disk encryption. Then all your files -- deleted, cached, or otherwise -- will be secure.

A MacBook cannot run iOS. What version of OS X are you using?