From the Finder go to the Applications folder. Look for the Cisco folder and open it; Then double click on Uninstall Anyconnect to start the uninstall process; Follow instructions to uninstall VPN program; Here's the procedure for manually uninstalling the AnyConnect client from a Mac OS X system. As root, run the following shell script from. How to Completely Remove Apps & Software in Mac OS X by Manual Terminal Uninstall. Another solution, which is best reserved for and intended for use by advanced Mac users only who are comfortable with the command line and have a deeper knowledge of OS X, is the thorough manual removal of an app and all associated components, and that’s what we’ll cover here.
Wouldn't you love to rid of some or all files on your Mac forever. Be it for storage space or reselling it. Perhaps your Mac is too old to take the next operating system version, or you’ve stored a lot of data on it, and you’re worried that it could be hijacked if stolen.
The last thing you want is to see that your data was leaked by some hacker, leaving you vulnerable and without a clue of what to do next.
The good news is you can permanently delete files from your Mac using several methods that we’ll show you in this guide.
Can My Files Be Retrieved Once I Delete Them
The short answer is yes.
Data recovery technology has made it possible to recover files and restore them, which means someone else can retrieve any files you delete from a hard drive.
Most new Macs come with the solid state drives (flash storage) or Fusion Drives for some iMacs, instead of the old spinning hard disk drives. That is a critical factor when it comes to securely delete files on your Mac because you won’t have to do so if it comes with an SSD.
If you have an older Mac, it probably has a regular HDD, but the newer models with the SSDs allow you to use the standard method of moving files and emptying the trash to erase files, compared to securely erasing the files.
Unlike HDDs, where secure file deletion works, it doesn’t with the SSDs because overwriting a file only creates a new one in a new location but doesn’t overwrite the old file’s contents.
Thankfully though, there are different methods you can use to permanently delete files on your Mac, whether it has the old HDDs or the SSDs.
Note: You can check the storage on your Mac by clicking the Apple logo at the upper left side of the screen, and then going to About This Mac>Storage. Under the disk icon, you'll see whether your Mac has a spinning HDD or an SSD.Move Files to Trash
This is a tried and true method of deleting files on your Mac by dragging it to the trash. You can also use the Move to Trash feature by right-clicking the file and selecting the option. From here, you can go ahead and empty the trash.
Delete Immediately is a feature introduced by Apple with OS X (macOS) 10.11 El Capitan that bypasses the trash when you delete a file. It’s much faster than Move to Trash as you simply highlight your files and then use the Option-Command-Delete shortcut.
Alternatively, you can go to Finder’s File menu and hold down Option key to change the Move to Trash option to Delete Immediately. You’ll be asked to confirm the deletion, just as you would when using Move to Trash option.
If you want to skip the empty trash confirmation, go to your keyboard and press the shortcut Command-Option-Shift-Delete. That will bypass the dialog window to confirm the deletion and empty the trash instantly.
If that is too difficult for you to remember or cumbersome, change Finder preferences setting to kill the confirmation. Go to Menu>Preferences and uncheck the Show warning before emptying the Trash box under Advanced tab.
Secure Empty Trash
This is another simple solution to deleting your files permanently from your Mac. It ensures that the items are deleted forever by writing random data over them multiple times.
The feature came with Mac OS X 10.3 Panther. It overwrites data seven times to increase security.
To use this feature, click Finder menu and select Secure Empty Trash just below Empty Trash.
Use a Third-Party App
If deleting your files by emptying the trash doesn’t help, you can get a third party application to force the trash to empty. There are many such apps available like Permanent Eraser or Clean My Mac, which can help you empty your trash completely and permanently.
Use Mac Terminal
Mac’s Terminal is a command line tool that allows you to complete tedious tasks such as file deletion easily in just a few seconds. The program uses Unix commands to perform several functions easily and quickly without the operating system interfering with its processes. It’s efficient and powerful as it helps you remove files with ease, permanently.
However, if you haven't used the command line, Terminal can be dangerous too. Before getting into it, familiarize yourself with some basic Terminal commands, because any wrong command you enter can cause damage to your system, and you could easily delete files faster than you’d have time to stop the process.
The precision of every character, including capitalization and spaces, is important when using terminal commands.
To get started, take the steps below:
Step 1: Open Finder and click Applications>Utilities>Terminal.
Step 2: In the new window, a command prompt with the $ (dollar sign) will appear. The command line you’ll see is ComputerName:CurrentDirectory ~Username$ and the word Bash at the top, which is the Terminal language in a Mac.
Step 3: Type your command and press the Return key after each command to execute it, or copy and paste the command into the terminal window. Type rm and space, and then drag and drop the file(s) you want to get rid of permanently into the Terminal window. Press Enter to remove it forever.
Note: You can also enter the file’s path into Terminal if you want to remove the file even faster without using drag and drop.Easily Delete Files for Good
Before you delete the files, make sure you have a backup of your data in case something goes awry. Of course, we would recommend you to get familiar with Terminal for it can be extremely powerful in erasing files while the interface may suffer a glitch or would be slow.
Next up:Want to delete your iCloud storage from your Mac and iPhone? Our next article shows you all the steps you need to take to clear out your storage.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read NextHow to Delete iCloud Storage from iPhone and MacAlso See#file deletion #imac
Did You Know
How To Fully Delete The App On Mac Terminal Mac
Thunderbolt 3 is a data and video transfer protocol and is developed by Intel.
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Mac OS X is, without a doubt, a great operating system. However, it seems to be a bit complicated for new users to understand in the beginning. Regular tasks such as uninstalling an application are also prone to complications. In this article, we will show you various methods for removing apps on a Mac. You can also delete the built-in apps from the system with the help of other software. On the other hand, you can get rid of regular apps by following a simple set of steps.
Unlike Windows, OS X lacks a dedicated app uninstaller. We think Apple needs to take a cue from Microsoft on this at least. A dedicated app removal function could save us all a lot of time. Having said that, there are still a lot of simpler ways to get rid of unwanted apps on OS X and we have listed them all.
One of the simplest ways is through the applications window, while the other methods include Launchpad and third-party applications like AppCleaner.
Removing Mac Apps natively
The easiest way to get rig of Mac apps is through the Application menu. Here is the step by step guide:
- Go to Finder
- Click on the “Applications” option on the left menu
- Select the particular app that you want to delete
- Drag it to “Trash” or Select it and press ⌘+Delete on your keyboard
- Enter your Mac password to complete the process (if prompted)
- Go to Trash and Click “Empty” option in the top right corner for permanent removal
Or You can perform the same task by opening the Launchpad. Here is how you can do that:
- Go to Launchpad (usually on the F4 key)
- Drag and Drop the app to the Trash
- Select “Delete” when the program prompts – Are you sure you want to delete this app?
- Go to Trash and Click “Erase” option in the top right corner for permanent removal
The steps above are the easiest ones that you can follow to remove any app from Mac OS X. However, these actions do not assure complete removal of the app as most of the apps tend to leave cache files on the system. For total elimination of the app along with its junk files (associated files and folders), you need to delete it through third-party programs like AppCleaner.
Uninstalling Mac Apps Using Extra Tools (for Junk Files/Cache)
One of the most unsettling issues on OS X is that when uninstalling apps, a lot of unwanted files get left behind. For finishing the unfinished business of junk file, we need to welcome the third-party apps like AppCleaner into the scene.
How to permanently remove Max applications using AppCleaner
- Download “AppCleaner” by freemacsoft – download it directly (not the one from the App Store)
- Open the AppCleaner and click on confirm to grant access to the app
- Now open AppCleaner and select the app that you want to delete from the list on the left side
- Select all the boxes that appear on the right side
- Click on Remove Files
If you do not want to use third-party apps to remove Cache from your Mac, you can also use the “Library” function. This feature is available in Finder. Here is how you can use it:
- Open Finder
- Hold Alt/Option key on your keyboard
- Keep holding Option key and click on “Go” option on the address bar
- Click on “Library” option
- Select “Cache” folder
- Delete the folder of the app that is no longer in use
Uninstalling Apps Like Flash, MacKeeper
There are many apps on our Mac that we want to delete but cannot remove due to system-imposed limitations. Thankfully, there is always a back door that you can use to achieve your goal. One of the usual suspects that we can always pick for security holes is Java. Removing Java will not affect your system in any manner. Even if it does for a particular app, then you can always install it again.
How To Fully Delete The App On Mac Terminal Drive
Uninstall Java from OS X
- Open Terminal on your Mac (Press⌘+space and type Terminal)
- Now copy-paste this command (below) to remove Java and hit enter
- Enter your password to approve the action by pressing enter after you’re finished (sometimes nothing will happen when you start typing your password. Don’t worry, it’s still working)
Uninstall Flash Player on a Mac
Apps like Adobe Flash Player need special assistance to be removed from a Mac. Go to this link and install Flash Player Uninstaller for your OS X version. To know what version your Mac is running – Click on the Apple icon in the top-left corner of your screen and select “About this Mac” It will show the version name and number of the Operating System. Install the “Flash Player uninstaller” accordingly.
- Open the Uninstaller
- Click on “Uninstall” to begin the process
- Go to Terminal and paste these commands (below) for total clean-up
Removing Third-party apps like MacKeeper and Microsoft Office
How To Fully Delete The App On Mac Terminal Linux
To delete MacKeeper application, go this link and get done with your requisite. Similarly, for removing Microsoft Office – head to this link.
How To Fully Delete The App On Mac Terminal File
Deleting Mac Optimizer
- Open Mac Optimizer on your Mac
- Click on the Help menu in the top left corner and select “Uninstall” from the list of options
- Select Uninstall option in the prompt window to complete the task
Conclusion
We hope these methods help you in getting rid of unwanted apps on OS X. Let us know your views through the comment section below.