Secure Empty Trash - Replicating Lost Functionality in El Capitan

[raster]

Much to my dismay, El Capitan removed the Secure Empty Trash function from OS X. So, I've created a workflow to replicate that functionality using srm -rfm to both delete the data and overwrite with DOD-compliant garbage data. Empties the user trash, but does not delete ~/.Trash itself

 

This is my first workflow, but I don't think I've done anything stupid.

 

Secure Empty Trash by raster

 

Icon designed by Freepik

[paulw]

hey, thanks for the workflow. Your icon is missing from Packal...

 

EDIT: but it's there in the workflow.

Edited November 7, 2015 by paulw

[vitor]

I’m not sure you should trust this to work. The option was removed because it was unreliable (i.e. it was removed because it did not work in the first place), so doing it via a terminal command is very unlikely to work either (if it did, Apple could simply have rerouted the Finder option to it), and is probably giving you nothing more than a false sense of security.

[paulw]

I’m not sure you should trust this to work. The option was removed because it was unreliable (i.e. it was removed because it did not work in the first place), so doing it via a terminal command is very unlikely to work either (if it did, Apple could simply have rerouted the Finder option to it), and is probably giving you nothing more than a false sense of security.

Thanks for that info, Vitor. Interesting. Looks like keeping the volume encrypted with FileVault instead is the way to go, so emptying the trash normally is enough in that case.

[raster]

I'm surprised that the tool designed to securely remove files doesn't actually do that well enough to be reliable. What do you think the best way to securely remove a file would be?

[paulw]

I'm surprised that the tool designed to securely remove files doesn't actually do that well enough to be reliable. What do you think the best way to securely remove a file would be?

Filevault encryption and normal emptying of trash.More info in the top answer here: http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/213850/how-to-secure-empty-trash-on-os-x-el-capitan

[vitor]

I'm surprised that the tool designed to securely remove files doesn't actually do that well enough to be reliable.

You’d then also be surprised that the tool designed for cryptography and secure communications didn’t actually do that well enough to be reliable, and that is exactly what we found out last year.

It shouldn’t be a surprise. Software has bugs, even software for critical tasks.

Even though I’m not sure when srm was first implemented, it’s very likely it was before SSDs were widespread, and part of the issue here are SSDs. Technology changes. If you design a tool with certain parameters in mind and those parameters change, it might make no difference how well designed it was or what its purpose was originally.