[MacTUG] More terminal tricks -- secure delete via rm -P

[Donald Duff-McCracken]

Again this is another old one I just started using. Apple removed the “secure delete” open from the Finder - as it really does not work with SSD drives which are now the norm. But I miss it as I still have lots of stuff stored on external hard disks where I would like files erased in a manner that would need a little work to recover them.

I never noticed that the rm command has an overwrite option on it -P https://ss64.com/osx/rm.html

Granted it only overwrites it 3 times* so not as good as a secure reformatting that I do on hard disks but still useful. Note that this is only useful for hard drives not SSDs


*”Overwrite regular files before deleting them.  Files are overwritten three times, first with the byte pattern 0xff, then 0x00, and then 0xff again, before they are deleted.”
------------------------------------
Donald Duff-McCracken
Interim Director
Mapping, Analysis & Design
Faculty of Environment
University of Waterloo
(519) 888-4567 x32151
https://uwaterloo.ca/environment-computing/about/people
------------------------------------
I acknowledge that I work and teach on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (Neutral), Anishnaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, land promised and given to Six Nations, which includes six miles on each side of the Grand River.

The information in this message, including any attachments, may contain confidential information intended only for the person(s) named above.  Any other distribution, copying or disclosure which is not necessary and proper in the discharge of the University's functions is strictly prohibited.  If you are not the intended recipient or have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and permanently delete the original transmission from us, including any attachments, without making a copy.  Thank you.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.uwaterloo.ca/pipermail/mactug/attachments/20191105/6575cd50/attachment.html>