Data security is the most important concern due to the cyber attacks and security loopholes here and there. While deleting the data from your Mac, you should be aware that the data could be recovered with the bunch of recovery tools available online. So, to make sure that once deleted remains deleted and unrecoverable, you could use a file shredder software on your Mac. A file shredder is a tool that permanently deletes files on your computer. There are a lot of file shredder software available for your Mac in the market.
Delete file permanently free download - Delete Files Permanently, Portable Delete Files Permanently, Permanently Delete Files From Computer Software, and many more programs. Permanently Erase or Wipe Data on Mac, DoYourData Super Erase for Mac is powerful Mac data erase software that can permanently and completely erase files, folders and data on Mac hard drive or storage device. It will destroy/wipe the selected data and overwrite the disk space with zeroes/ones or random bits.
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So, in this post, we have compiled a list of best file shredder software for Mac.
1. TuneUpMyMac
TuneUpMyMac is multiple purpose app, as it also serves as an adept file shredder utility. It not only safely deletes the sensitive information from your hard drive, but also boosts the performance of your Mac by managing data storage. The data removal is permanent so there is no chance of recovery. It keeps your privacy and security intact as it removes all the private data from your Mac which can make you vulnerable. The app also helps you to uninstall the apps along with the associated files from your Mac. The software has several other features that enhance your Mac’s performance, thus making it as our top pick. The app is available for OSx 10.7 and above. The app can be downloaded from here-
2. MacClean
One of the best file shredder software for Mac, Mac Clean’s File Eraser is available for free. This fast, secure app wipes the files from your hard drive and makes them unrecoverable.It also removes the accumulated junk data on your system to manage the storage space on your hard drive. The app secures your Internet activities from hackers and spying entities by cleaning the caches, cookies, session, history and saved passwords and more. It efficiently wipes out the Facetime history and iMessages. It protects your computer from all kind of malicious activities.
3. Stellar Wipe Mac
Stellar Wipe Mac is a file eraser app that helps to erase the sensitive data on your drive completely. The software uses powerful wiping algorithms in it and makes sure your deleted files remain unrecoverable. The user interface is simple and easy to use. It completely wipes system traces, recent file histories, internet browsing data, instant messaging information and internet browsing data. You can also remove a particular file or entire folder. It also enables you to schedule the wiping process.
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4. Mac Optimizer Pro
Mac Optimizer Pro is an app that permanently deletes files on your Mac. Though, the app can be used for multiple purposes such as securing your mac and removing the junk files. One of the features of the app is file shredder, to protect the privacy and data security, Mac Optimizer Pro uses military-grade data shredder powered by multiple-overwrite technology. The data deleted by the app could not be recovered by any recovery software.
5. File Shredder
With File Shredder app, you can simply right-click (secondary click) or drag the file to erase the sensitive data on your Mac, USB drive or any other external device.It has two option Shred and Secure Shred, the difference between the two is: you cannot recover the data deleted with Secure Shred as it overwrites the data on the disk. It uses the secure algorithm for the process. You can choose out of four algorithms in preferences: Secure Shred: 1 pass (fastest), 3 passes (DoE standard), 7 passes (DoD standard), or 35 passes (Gutmann deletion, safest). In case you have selected the wrong file to be shredded then you can press Abort button to stop further deletion.
6. Cleanmymac 3
The all in one app, Cleanmymac 3 is one of the best apps that permanently erases files on your Mac. It wipes the data from your hard drives permanently so that no third party software could recover the files. As Cleanmymac doesn’t only discard the data but also overwrites it. The app can also act as a Smart Cleanup, Junk File remover, Uninstaller. Moreover, it also protects your privacy.
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7. Permanent Eraser
It is one of the best file shredder software for Mac. Permanent Eraser uses additional wiping techniques such as the 3-pass DoE or 35-pass Gutmann algorithms. This tool overwrites the data multiple times, scrambles the original file name, and truncates the file size to nothing and before permanent eraser completely unlinks the data from the system. Once your data has been wiped, it can not be recovered. The tool is available for free.
8. ShredIt
ShredIt is one of the best permanent erasers for Mac. It deletes files from your hard disk and makes them irrecoverable which helps you protect your data. The app has a user-friendly interface. It uses DoD, DoE, NSA, Gutmann standards to ensure the privacy and security. The app is perfect to delete files securely, free the disk space, external drive, CD-RW and more. The inbuilt safety features like Confirm before Shred, Safe Place, Don’t Panic and more makes the process easy. The utility tool works on Mac as well as Windows.
9. Incinerator
Incinerator is one of the best file shredder software for Mac. It permanently erases the confidential data from your Mac and gives you a peace of mind. It uses a technique which makes sure that the deleted file could never be recovered. For that, it writes over every byte of the file before wiping it completely. The app is available for free on Mac Store.
10. DoYourData Super Eraser For Mac
Do You Data is one of the best permanent erasers for Mac as it securely removes the data from your hard drive. It can wipe private information, financial data, business documents and more safely and completely to avoid any threats.You can erase data from your hard disk, storage media, and digital devices. The app is easy to use as you can erase the data in simple three steps.
Must Read: 10 Best Mac Anti-Malware Software
So, this is the list of the best file shredder software for Mac, go ahead and install a file shredder and keeps the deletion of the confidential data permanent. Let us know in the comment section which one works for you.
Responses
Wouldn't you love to rid of some or all files on your Mac forever. Be it for storage space or reselling it. Perhaps your Mac is too old to take the next operating system version, or you’ve stored a lot of data on it, and you’re worried that it could be hijacked if stolen.
The last thing you want is to see that your data was leaked by some hacker, leaving you vulnerable and without a clue of what to do next.
The good news is you can permanently delete files from your Mac using several methods that we’ll show you in this guide.
Can My Files Be Retrieved Once I Delete Them
The short answer is yes.
Data recovery technology has made it possible to recover files and restore them, which means someone else can retrieve any files you delete from a hard drive.
Most new Macs come with the solid state drives (flash storage) or Fusion Drives for some iMacs, instead of the old spinning hard disk drives. That is a critical factor when it comes to securely delete files on your Mac because you won’t have to do so if it comes with an SSD.
If you have an older Mac, it probably has a regular HDD, but the newer models with the SSDs allow you to use the standard method of moving files and emptying the trash to erase files, compared to securely erasing the files.
Unlike HDDs, where secure file deletion works, it doesn’t with the SSDs because overwriting a file only creates a new one in a new location but doesn’t overwrite the old file’s contents.
Thankfully though, there are different methods you can use to permanently delete files on your Mac, whether it has the old HDDs or the SSDs.
Note: You can check the storage on your Mac by clicking the Apple logo at the upper left side of the screen, and then going to About This Mac>Storage. Under the disk icon, you'll see whether your Mac has a spinning HDD or an SSD.Move Files to Trash
This is a tried and true method of deleting files on your Mac by dragging it to the trash. You can also use the Move to Trash feature by right-clicking the file and selecting the option. From here, you can go ahead and empty the trash.
Delete Immediately is a feature introduced by Apple with OS X (macOS) 10.11 El Capitan that bypasses the trash when you delete a file. It’s much faster than Move to Trash as you simply highlight your files and then use the Option-Command-Delete shortcut.
Alternatively, you can go to Finder’s File menu and hold down Option key to change the Move to Trash option to Delete Immediately. You’ll be asked to confirm the deletion, just as you would when using Move to Trash option.
If you want to skip the empty trash confirmation, go to your keyboard and press the shortcut Command-Option-Shift-Delete. That will bypass the dialog window to confirm the deletion and empty the trash instantly.
If that is too difficult for you to remember or cumbersome, change Finder preferences setting to kill the confirmation. Go to Menu>Preferences and uncheck the Show warning before emptying the Trash box under Advanced tab.
Secure Empty Trash
This is another simple solution to deleting your files permanently from your Mac. It ensures that the items are deleted forever by writing random data over them multiple times.
The feature came with Mac OS X 10.3 Panther. It overwrites data seven times to increase security.
To use this feature, click Finder menu and select Secure Empty Trash just below Empty Trash.
Use a Third-Party App
If deleting your files by emptying the trash doesn’t help, you can get a third party application to force the trash to empty. There are many such apps available like Permanent Eraser or Clean My Mac, which can help you empty your trash completely and permanently.
Use Mac Terminal
Mac’s Terminal is a command line tool that allows you to complete tedious tasks such as file deletion easily in just a few seconds. The program uses Unix commands to perform several functions easily and quickly without the operating system interfering with its processes. It’s efficient and powerful as it helps you remove files with ease, permanently.
However, if you haven't used the command line, Terminal can be dangerous too. Before getting into it, familiarize yourself with some basic Terminal commands, because any wrong command you enter can cause damage to your system, and you could easily delete files faster than you’d have time to stop the process.
The precision of every character, including capitalization and spaces, is important when using terminal commands.
To get started, take the steps below:
Step 1: Open Finder and click Applications>Utilities>Terminal.
Step 2: In the new window, a command prompt with the $ (dollar sign) will appear. The command line you’ll see is ComputerName:CurrentDirectory ~Username$ and the word Bash at the top, which is the Terminal language in a Mac.
Step 3: Type your command and press the Return key after each command to execute it, or copy and paste the command into the terminal window. Type rm and space, and then drag and drop the file(s) you want to get rid of permanently into the Terminal window. Press Enter to remove it forever.
Note: You can also enter the file’s path into Terminal if you want to remove the file even faster without using drag and drop.Easily Delete Files for Good
Before you delete the files, make sure you have a backup of your data in case something goes awry. Of course, we would recommend you to get familiar with Terminal for it can be extremely powerful in erasing files while the interface may suffer a glitch or would be slow.
Next up:Want to delete your iCloud storage from your Mac and iPhone? Our next article shows you all the steps you need to take to clear out your storage.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read NextHow to Delete iCloud Storage from iPhone and MacAlso See#file deletion
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