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Secure Erase is a method that uses built in commands on PATA and SATA drives. &nbsp;The whole drive is erased and will be extremely unreadable.<br />
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Information about Secure Erase: &nbsp;<a href="http://pcsupport.about.com/od/termss/g/secure-erase.htm" rel="ugc">http://pcsupport.about.com<wbr />/od/termss<wbr />/g/secure-<wbr />erase.htm</a><br />
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I used this $9 purchased Secure Erase: &nbsp;<a href="https://partedmagic.com/downloads/" rel="ugc">https://partedmagic.com/downloads/</a><br />
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<a href="https://partedmagic.com/secure-erase/" rel="ugc">https://partedmagic.com/secure-erase/</a><br />
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There are other freebies available: &nbsp;<a href="http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/tp/free-data-destruction-software.htm" rel="ugc">http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/tp/free-data-destruction-software.htm</a> &nbsp;Look for the ones that use Secure Erase as the sanitizing option.<br />
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I use this erase program when none of the others will work... works on HDD, no reports: &nbsp;<a href="http://www.dban.org/" rel="ugc">http://www.dban.org/</a>
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No such thing as &quot;absolutely guarantee&quot;. &nbsp;Systems are too complex, and data gets copied around under the covers all the time: swapfiles used for virtual memory, applications that make copies of files while using them and then delete them insecurely, SSD and disk blocks that get marked bad but still contain recoverable data.<br />
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If it is really important, you need to securely erase the entire disk(s), and reload from scratch or from a backup from before the problem file entered the system. &nbsp;A determined data recovery pro may be able to turn up very interesting bits of information even if you take all the actions I describe below.<br />
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To permanently delete files on some older versions of Mac OSX:<br />
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&nbsp; &nbsp; Place Moderate or High Risk Data you wish to permanently remove in the Trash.<br />
&nbsp; &nbsp; From the Finder menu, select <b>Secure Empty Trash</b>… &nbsp;<br />
&nbsp; &nbsp; Items in the Trash are to permanently erased to US DoD standards.<br />
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Newer versions of OSx don't have this feature, but you can use the srm command instead:<br />
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<a href="https://developer.apple.com/legacy/library/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/srm.1.html" rel="ugc nofollow">https://developer.apple.com/legacy/library/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/srm.1.html</a><br />
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Even securely deleting a file -does not ensure- that all evidence of a file is truly removed from a system. <br />
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<a href="https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/how-delete-your-data-securely-mac-os-x" rel="ugc">https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/how-delete-your-data-securely-mac-os-x</a><br />
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Delete cache, log and temp files:<br />
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<a href="http://www.chriswrites.com/cleaning-up-cache-log-files-and-temporary-files-in-os-x/" rel="ugc">http://www.chriswrites.com/cleaning-up-cache-log-files-and-temporary-files-in-os-x/</a><br />
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Finally, disable virtual memory, delete swapfiles, securely wipe free space, reboot, and re-enable virtual memory. &nbsp;<br />
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<a href="http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20040809191855264" rel="ugc">http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20040809191855264</a><br />
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Finally, I am an IT security guy, but Mac OS is not my specialty, so I may have left out some important steps. &nbsp;Proceed with caution, and if in doubt, securely wipe the magnetic drives in question, replace SSD drives with new ones and physically destroy the old ones, and be careful about copies that might have gotten stored elsewhere: mail server, web site, cloud storage, backup devices, etc.
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You may also wish to read the articles at this website concerning the various techniques for a secure erase and how long they take. &nbsp;<a href="http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/secure-erase.html" rel="ugc">http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/secure-erase.html</a><br />
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<a href="http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/documents/DataSanitizationTutorial.pdf" rel="ugc">http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/documents/DataSanitizationTutorial.pdf</a><br />
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Interestingly enough, DOD 5220 is not very good. &nbsp;Using the drive's built in features is both much faster and much better.
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I know that the ultimate way is physical destruction of the media .<br />
However I am faced with a situation where i need to absolutely guarantee that some picture which exist on an IMAC are deleted and cannot be recovered . I need a utility . I need a method short of nuking the computer .
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I know that the ultimate way is physical destruction of the media .
However I am faced with a situation where i need to absolutely guarantee that some picture which exist on an IMAC are deleted and cannot be recovered . I need a utility . I need a method short of nuking the computer .

How to delete a set of files permanently beyond most reasonable means of recovery .

This topic area includes legacy versions of Windows prior to Windows 2000: Windows 3/3.1, Windows 95 and Windows 98, plus any other Windows-related versions including Windows Mobile.

Windows OS

Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, is a technology consisting of computer components and recording media used to retain digital data. In addition to local storage devices like CD and DVD readers, hard drives and flash drives, solid state drives can hold enormous amounts of data in a very small device. Cloud services and other new forms of remote storage also add to the capacity of devices and their ability to access more data without building additional data storage into a device.

Storage

Operating systems perform basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers. For large systems, the operating system makes sure that different programs and users running at the same time do not interfere with each other. The operating system is also responsible for security, ensuring that unauthorized users do not access the system. Operating systems provide a software platform on top of which other programs, called application programs, can run.