Once you hit the return key there is no going back, this is truly irreversible.

Repeat as necessary for other files or folders you wish to securely delete in OS X.

Confirm the path is to the file or folder you wish to permanently delete with a secure empty trash equivalent and hit the Return key.

Now drag and drop the file or folder you wish to remove into the Terminal command line, this will fill in the complete path to the file automatically.

Type the following syntax exactly, be sure to include a space after the flag:.Hit Command+Space bar to open Spotlight, type “Terminal” and hit the return key to launch the Terminal application.Locate the file(s) you wish to securely delete in the OS X Finder.This requires usage of the Mac command line and a very powerful secure remove command, this is irreversible. How to Perform Equivalent of “Secure Empty Trash” in OS X El Capitan (10.11.+) Do not use this command if you do not understand file paths and the command line in general. If you delete a file or folder with this command, it’s gone for good, you will never get it back unless you had made a backup elsewhere. This is intended for advanced users with a thorough understanding of the command line, and those who understand risks associated with using srm command, which is entirely unforgiving and irreversible with permanent removal of files.

For those with a knowledgable command line background, you’ll likely recognize this alternative approach of secured file removal as using the srm command, which performs a secure delete from the command line in OS X and linux.

Enable secure empty trash mac