Category Archives: MacOS

Securely erasing disks in MacOS

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Steps to Securely Erase in Disk Utility

  1. Open Disk Utility (found in /Applications/Utilities/).
  2. Choose View > Show All Devices to ensure you select the physical drive, not just the volume.
  3. Select the drive you want to erase.
  4. Click the Erase button in the toolbar.
  5. Click Security Options and move the slider to choose how many times to overwrite the data.
    • Fastest: Standard erase, no secure overwrite.
    • Single-pass (0): Writes zeros over the drive.
    • 3-Pass (4): DOE-compliant 3-pass overwrite.
    • 7-Pass (2): DoD 5220.22 M standard.
  6. Select a format (e.g., APFS or Mac OS Extended) and click Erase

Secure Erase Using Terminal 

  1. Identify the disk: diskutil list.
  2. Run the command: sudo diskutil secureErase [level] /dev/diskX.
    • Level 0: Single-pass zeros.
    • Level 1: Single-pass random.
    • Level 2: 7-pass secure erase.
    • Level 3: Gutmann algorithm (35-pass).
    • Level 4: 3-pass secure erase.

Important Notes

  • SSDs: Secure erase options are not necessary for most modern SSDs with TRIM enabled, as a standard erase is sufficient. Using多-pass overwrites on SSDs causes unnecessary wear.
  • FileVault: If your drive is encrypted with FileVault, simply erasing it (“Erase All Content and Settings” on modern Macs) destroys the encryption key, making the data unrecoverable.
  • Warnings: Secure erasure can take a long time. Ensure you have backed up any data you wish to keep.

Force Safari history to sync on macOS Catalina

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In order to force safari history syncing between your iPad/iPhone and Mac, you will need to first enable the “debug” menu.. This is not to be confused with the “Develop” menu, which you can enable in Safari’s settings. Make sure you have also selected “safari” within your iCloud account settings on all devices you want to sync.

1st, close safari completely with Command-Q (or whatever your preferred method is)

2nd, go to ‘System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Full Disk Access’ and add Terminal.

3rd, within Terminal, execute ‘defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeInternalDebugMenu 1′ (without the quotes’

4th, launch Safari, and on the newly created “Debug” menu, choose ‘Sync iCloud History’

You should know see your synced history between that Mac and your iOS devices!