Permanently Delete Files and Folders - No Chance for Restore

[jdag]

I have a Drobo (gen 2) directly attached via FireWire to an iMac running Yosemite.

There are a number of files and folders that I would like to delete permanently. In other words, I don't want those files or folders to be in any way recoverable.

I do have backups, but a full reformatting of the drives really is not practical/desireable. Would the "Secure Empty Trash" option on OS X be the best alternate?

Please advise on the best way to handle this task.

Thanks!

 

[Gregg2]

No, I don't think that will help. It will take $100 recovery software to get any deleted file back, but if you want that to be impossible, you need a utility to Wipe Free Space after deleting. I use TechTool Pro ($75 ?) for that and am not sure if it can be done in Disk Utility, which you should have. Can't explore, not at my Mac right now.

According to the post below, I am mistaken. However, if you have files you've already deleted not using Secure Empty Trash, the advice above will make them impossible to recover.

 

[ocabj]

If you believe "Secure empty trash" does what Apple claims it does, then it should be sufficient to permanently delete files without recovery options.

Essentially, it will delete the file and overwrite the space on disk the file existed on with random data.

 

[jdag]

Thanks all!