I have a 12” MacBook that I want to return to the Store. How do I secure wipe the SSD and restore it to its original factory settings? I want a SECURE wipe so that nobody can use a data recovery software and use it to steal my personal information. Simply deleting the partition and restore from the recovery partition wouldn’t be enough.
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How to SECURE wipe Mojave before returning my my Mac the store?
- Thread starter Sodium Chloride
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You don't really secure erase SSDs for a variety of reasons, including methods not being that effective (wear leveling on drives will cause blocks to be marked invalid rather than actually overwrite them). Basically using encryption to secure your drive before deleting is the recommendation for a secure erase.
So if you use FileVault and do a an erase that's pretty secure, but you could take it a step further and delete the FileVault keys before an erase, ensuring the data is garbage even before an erase: https://www.macobserver.com/tips/how-to/securely-erase-macs-ssd/
So if you use FileVault and do a an erase that's pretty secure, but you could take it a step further and delete the FileVault keys before an erase, ensuring the data is garbage even before an erase: https://www.macobserver.com/tips/how-to/securely-erase-macs-ssd/
Crash0veride is right on. You don't secure erase SSDs. If you have FileVault turned on, your data is encrypted, and when you erase the key it's no longer accessible. If you have not turned on FileVault, do it now, let it complete the encryption, then follow Apple's instructions to prepare your Mac for return.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201065
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201065