How do I securely erase an SSD that is already formatted?
I'm trying to sell my 2015 MacBook Pro, but first I need to securely erase my SSD.
All the help I find online only seems to talk about how to do a cryptographic erase on an SSD. Writing zeros to every bit once or multiple times lowers the lifespan of the SDD, and my MacBook Pro doesn't seem to let me do that anyway. The trouble is, I've already formatted the drive, and I'm worried that reinstalling MacOS and enabling FileVault to encrypt my files won't actually encrypt the already "deleted" files from before I formatted the drive.
What would I need to do to make be reasonably sure that my data can't be recovered easily by the next owner?
macos ssd security encryption
asked Dec 23 '18 at 18:19
Ryan HartRyan Hart
11
add a comment |
I'm trying to sell my 2015 MacBook Pro, but first I need to securely erase my SSD.
All the help I find online only seems to talk about how to do a cryptographic erase on an SSD. Writing zeros to every bit once or multiple times lowers the lifespan of the SDD, and my MacBook Pro doesn't seem to let me do that anyway. The trouble is, I've already formatted the drive, and I'm worried that reinstalling MacOS and enabling FileVault to encrypt my files won't actually encrypt the already "deleted" files from before I formatted the drive.
What would I need to do to make be reasonably sure that my data can't be recovered easily by the next owner?
macos ssd security encryption
asked Dec 23 '18 at 18:19
Ryan HartRyan Hart
11
see superuser.com/questions/1382487/…
– Keltari
Dec 23 '18 at 18:22
Thank you for the response, but this doesn't answer my question. First, my SDD is not SATA. Second, I've already formatted the drive.
– Ryan Hart
Dec 23 '18 at 21:32
Who's the SSD manufacturer, what's the model? Already formatting it is irrelevant if the goal is to securely erase it - you won't know if it was formatted before or not, that's the point.
– Xen2050
Dec 24 '18 at 0:22
Ah my problem was that I didn't understand that the MacOS FileVault feature is essentially the same thing as full disk encryption. I had thought that it was just going to encrypt the data that was there since I reinstalled. This article helped me out. osxdaily.com/2013/04/22/…
– Ryan Hart
Dec 24 '18 at 15:56
My SSD manufacturer is Apple, by the way.
– Ryan Hart
Dec 24 '18 at 15:56
add a comment |
I'm trying to sell my 2015 MacBook Pro, but first I need to securely erase my SSD.
All the help I find online only seems to talk about how to do a cryptographic erase on an SSD. Writing zeros to every bit once or multiple times lowers the lifespan of the SDD, and my MacBook Pro doesn't seem to let me do that anyway. The trouble is, I've already formatted the drive, and I'm worried that reinstalling MacOS and enabling FileVault to encrypt my files won't actually encrypt the already "deleted" files from before I formatted the drive.
What would I need to do to make be reasonably sure that my data can't be recovered easily by the next owner?
macos ssd security encryption
asked Dec 23 '18 at 18:19
Ryan HartRyan Hart
11
I'm trying to sell my 2015 MacBook Pro, but first I need to securely erase my SSD.
All the help I find online only seems to talk about how to do a cryptographic erase on an SSD. Writing zeros to every bit once or multiple times lowers the lifespan of the SDD, and my MacBook Pro doesn't seem to let me do that anyway. The trouble is, I've already formatted the drive, and I'm worried that reinstalling MacOS and enabling FileVault to encrypt my files won't actually encrypt the already "deleted" files from before I formatted the drive.
What would I need to do to make be reasonably sure that my data can't be recovered easily by the next owner?
macos ssd security encryption
macos ssd security encryption
asked Dec 23 '18 at 18:19
Ryan HartRyan Hart
11
asked Dec 23 '18 at 18:19
Ryan HartRyan Hart
11
asked Dec 23 '18 at 18:19
Ryan HartRyan Hart
11
asked Dec 23 '18 at 18:19
Ryan HartRyan Hart
11
asked Dec 23 '18 at 18:19
Ryan HartRyan Hart
11
11
see superuser.com/questions/1382487/…
– Keltari
Dec 23 '18 at 18:22
Thank you for the response, but this doesn't answer my question. First, my SDD is not SATA. Second, I've already formatted the drive.
– Ryan Hart
Dec 23 '18 at 21:32
Who's the SSD manufacturer, what's the model? Already formatting it is irrelevant if the goal is to securely erase it - you won't know if it was formatted before or not, that's the point.
– Xen2050
Dec 24 '18 at 0:22
Ah my problem was that I didn't understand that the MacOS FileVault feature is essentially the same thing as full disk encryption. I had thought that it was just going to encrypt the data that was there since I reinstalled. This article helped me out. osxdaily.com/2013/04/22/…
– Ryan Hart
Dec 24 '18 at 15:56
My SSD manufacturer is Apple, by the way.
– Ryan Hart
Dec 24 '18 at 15:56
add a comment |
see superuser.com/questions/1382487/…
– Keltari
Dec 23 '18 at 18:22
Thank you for the response, but this doesn't answer my question. First, my SDD is not SATA. Second, I've already formatted the drive.
– Ryan Hart
Dec 23 '18 at 21:32
Who's the SSD manufacturer, what's the model? Already formatting it is irrelevant if the goal is to securely erase it - you won't know if it was formatted before or not, that's the point.
– Xen2050
Dec 24 '18 at 0:22
Ah my problem was that I didn't understand that the MacOS FileVault feature is essentially the same thing as full disk encryption. I had thought that it was just going to encrypt the data that was there since I reinstalled. This article helped me out. osxdaily.com/2013/04/22/…
– Ryan Hart
Dec 24 '18 at 15:56
My SSD manufacturer is Apple, by the way.
– Ryan Hart
Dec 24 '18 at 15:56
see superuser.com/questions/1382487/…
– Keltari
Dec 23 '18 at 18:22
see superuser.com/questions/1382487/…
– Keltari
Dec 23 '18 at 18:22
Thank you for the response, but this doesn't answer my question. First, my SDD is not SATA. Second, I've already formatted the drive.
– Ryan Hart
Dec 23 '18 at 21:32
Thank you for the response, but this doesn't answer my question. First, my SDD is not SATA. Second, I've already formatted the drive.
– Ryan Hart
Dec 23 '18 at 21:32
Who's the SSD manufacturer, what's the model? Already formatting it is irrelevant if the goal is to securely erase it - you won't know if it was formatted before or not, that's the point.
– Xen2050
Dec 24 '18 at 0:22
Who's the SSD manufacturer, what's the model? Already formatting it is irrelevant if the goal is to securely erase it - you won't know if it was formatted before or not, that's the point.
– Xen2050
Dec 24 '18 at 0:22
Ah my problem was that I didn't understand that the MacOS FileVault feature is essentially the same thing as full disk encryption. I had thought that it was just going to encrypt the data that was there since I reinstalled. This article helped me out. osxdaily.com/2013/04/22/…
– Ryan Hart
Dec 24 '18 at 15:56
Ah my problem was that I didn't understand that the MacOS FileVault feature is essentially the same thing as full disk encryption. I had thought that it was just going to encrypt the data that was there since I reinstalled. This article helped me out. osxdaily.com/2013/04/22/…
– Ryan Hart
Dec 24 '18 at 15:56
My SSD manufacturer is Apple, by the way.
– Ryan Hart
Dec 24 '18 at 15:56
My SSD manufacturer is Apple, by the way.
– Ryan Hart
Dec 24 '18 at 15:56
add a comment |
1 Answer
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This guy explains it better than I can, it's very simple...Cryptographic Erase
Basically, a cryptographic erase means encrypting the drive, then throwing a way the encryption key. This renders the information stored on the drive unreadable. (This what happens when you do a master reset on your iOS device.) Then the SSD is erased and formatted as usual.
If someone were to examine the unused space on the newly erased drive with a digital forensic tool, all that would be seen is encrypted nonsense.
For an Mac’s boot drive, Peter Cohen explains the process nicely. “How to Securely Erase a Mac SSD.” In brief:
Back up any data you want to keep on your boot drive. It’s going to be nuked.
If you haven’t already, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > FileVault and enable it. Write down the password on paper until you establish a safe place for this password. Be patient. This process can take a long time, hours, and there is no progress bar.
When done, restart you Mac in Recovery mode (CMD-R) as described at the beginning of this article.
Launch Disk Utility. Select the disk (boot SSD). Select Unlock “volume name” from the File menu. Enter that saved password. Now erase the disk normally, using the standard erase option.
This deletes the FileVault key. The SSD now contains only unreadable, encrypted garbage.
You may wish to install some version of macOS now to place the machine in the out-of-the-box mode. Do CMD-Q when the Mac reboots and the set up process first starts.
And now, phew!, you’re ready to sell your Mac.
answered Jan 5 at 1:41
gerard1021gerard1021
12
add a comment |
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This guy explains it better than I can, it's very simple...Cryptographic Erase
Basically, a cryptographic erase means encrypting the drive, then throwing a way the encryption key. This renders the information stored on the drive unreadable. (This what happens when you do a master reset on your iOS device.) Then the SSD is erased and formatted as usual.
If someone were to examine the unused space on the newly erased drive with a digital forensic tool, all that would be seen is encrypted nonsense.
For an Mac’s boot drive, Peter Cohen explains the process nicely. “How to Securely Erase a Mac SSD.” In brief:
Back up any data you want to keep on your boot drive. It’s going to be nuked.
If you haven’t already, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > FileVault and enable it. Write down the password on paper until you establish a safe place for this password. Be patient. This process can take a long time, hours, and there is no progress bar.
When done, restart you Mac in Recovery mode (CMD-R) as described at the beginning of this article.
Launch Disk Utility. Select the disk (boot SSD). Select Unlock “volume name” from the File menu. Enter that saved password. Now erase the disk normally, using the standard erase option.
This deletes the FileVault key. The SSD now contains only unreadable, encrypted garbage.
You may wish to install some version of macOS now to place the machine in the out-of-the-box mode. Do CMD-Q when the Mac reboots and the set up process first starts.
And now, phew!, you’re ready to sell your Mac.
answered Jan 5 at 1:41
gerard1021gerard1021
12
add a comment |
This guy explains it better than I can, it's very simple...Cryptographic Erase
Basically, a cryptographic erase means encrypting the drive, then throwing a way the encryption key. This renders the information stored on the drive unreadable. (This what happens when you do a master reset on your iOS device.) Then the SSD is erased and formatted as usual.
If someone were to examine the unused space on the newly erased drive with a digital forensic tool, all that would be seen is encrypted nonsense.
For an Mac’s boot drive, Peter Cohen explains the process nicely. “How to Securely Erase a Mac SSD.” In brief:
Back up any data you want to keep on your boot drive. It’s going to be nuked.
If you haven’t already, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > FileVault and enable it. Write down the password on paper until you establish a safe place for this password. Be patient. This process can take a long time, hours, and there is no progress bar.
When done, restart you Mac in Recovery mode (CMD-R) as described at the beginning of this article.
Launch Disk Utility. Select the disk (boot SSD). Select Unlock “volume name” from the File menu. Enter that saved password. Now erase the disk normally, using the standard erase option.
This deletes the FileVault key. The SSD now contains only unreadable, encrypted garbage.
You may wish to install some version of macOS now to place the machine in the out-of-the-box mode. Do CMD-Q when the Mac reboots and the set up process first starts.
And now, phew!, you’re ready to sell your Mac.
answered Jan 5 at 1:41
gerard1021gerard1021
12
add a comment |
This guy explains it better than I can, it's very simple...Cryptographic Erase
Basically, a cryptographic erase means encrypting the drive, then throwing a way the encryption key. This renders the information stored on the drive unreadable. (This what happens when you do a master reset on your iOS device.) Then the SSD is erased and formatted as usual.
If someone were to examine the unused space on the newly erased drive with a digital forensic tool, all that would be seen is encrypted nonsense.
For an Mac’s boot drive, Peter Cohen explains the process nicely. “How to Securely Erase a Mac SSD.” In brief:
Back up any data you want to keep on your boot drive. It’s going to be nuked.
If you haven’t already, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > FileVault and enable it. Write down the password on paper until you establish a safe place for this password. Be patient. This process can take a long time, hours, and there is no progress bar.
When done, restart you Mac in Recovery mode (CMD-R) as described at the beginning of this article.
Launch Disk Utility. Select the disk (boot SSD). Select Unlock “volume name” from the File menu. Enter that saved password. Now erase the disk normally, using the standard erase option.
This deletes the FileVault key. The SSD now contains only unreadable, encrypted garbage.
You may wish to install some version of macOS now to place the machine in the out-of-the-box mode. Do CMD-Q when the Mac reboots and the set up process first starts.
And now, phew!, you’re ready to sell your Mac.
answered Jan 5 at 1:41
gerard1021gerard1021
12
This guy explains it better than I can, it's very simple...Cryptographic Erase
Basically, a cryptographic erase means encrypting the drive, then throwing a way the encryption key. This renders the information stored on the drive unreadable. (This what happens when you do a master reset on your iOS device.) Then the SSD is erased and formatted as usual.
If someone were to examine the unused space on the newly erased drive with a digital forensic tool, all that would be seen is encrypted nonsense.
For an Mac’s boot drive, Peter Cohen explains the process nicely. “How to Securely Erase a Mac SSD.” In brief:
Back up any data you want to keep on your boot drive. It’s going to be nuked.
If you haven’t already, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > FileVault and enable it. Write down the password on paper until you establish a safe place for this password. Be patient. This process can take a long time, hours, and there is no progress bar.
When done, restart you Mac in Recovery mode (CMD-R) as described at the beginning of this article.
Launch Disk Utility. Select the disk (boot SSD). Select Unlock “volume name” from the File menu. Enter that saved password. Now erase the disk normally, using the standard erase option.
This deletes the FileVault key. The SSD now contains only unreadable, encrypted garbage.
You may wish to install some version of macOS now to place the machine in the out-of-the-box mode. Do CMD-Q when the Mac reboots and the set up process first starts.
And now, phew!, you’re ready to sell your Mac.
answered Jan 5 at 1:41
gerard1021gerard1021
12
answered Jan 5 at 1:41
gerard1021gerard1021
12
answered Jan 5 at 1:41
gerard1021gerard1021
12
answered Jan 5 at 1:41
gerard1021gerard1021
12
12
add a comment |
add a comment |
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see superuser.com/questions/1382487/…
– Keltari
Dec 23 '18 at 18:22
Thank you for the response, but this doesn't answer my question. First, my SDD is not SATA. Second, I've already formatted the drive.
– Ryan Hart
Dec 23 '18 at 21:32
Who's the SSD manufacturer, what's the model? Already formatting it is irrelevant if the goal is to securely erase it - you won't know if it was formatted before or not, that's the point.
– Xen2050
Dec 24 '18 at 0:22
Ah my problem was that I didn't understand that the MacOS FileVault feature is essentially the same thing as full disk encryption. I had thought that it was just going to encrypt the data that was there since I reinstalled. This article helped me out. osxdaily.com/2013/04/22/…
– Ryan Hart
Dec 24 '18 at 15:56
My SSD manufacturer is Apple, by the way.
– Ryan Hart
Dec 24 '18 at 15:56