New Macbook Pro - how do I safely/securely remove 1Password from old iMac?
Hello,
I receive my new Macbook next week, and sold my iMac. So my question, how do I safe and secure remove 1password from my iMac. I sync with dropbox. Thanks you for help!
Serge
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What I'd recommend is regardless of whether or not you use 1Password. You boot the machine from either the installation DVD or a second copy of the OS and erase the drive making use of the security options available in Disk Utility. You then install a fresh copy of OS X knowing that by wiping the drive you're leaving no files or data behind. Anything less and you risk accidental leakage of personal information. Do you understand where I'm coming from when I say it's almost not a 1Password question?
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Hi @SergeMerchez,
First off, make sure you keep a copy of 1Password backups from your iMac somewhere you can access them on your new MacBook Pro in case they're needed there. To locate the backups, see:
Where the backup files are stored?
For example, you could save a separate copy of the 1Password backup folder somewhere (e.g. external drive) in addition to having a full backup of the iMac.
Erasing the iMac's entire drive (securely, at least if it's not SSD) before selling the system, like @littlebobbytables recommends, is the smartest thing you can do to be confident of not unintentionally leaving any personal, sensitive data behind for the buyer to find. If the system supports it, you can use OS X Recovery to do that and also install a fresh copy of OS X. Here's an Apple article with some additional information:
What to do before selling or giving away your Mac
And there are plenty of other articles related to this topic, e.g.:
The 4 Most Important Steps Before Selling or Transferring Ownership of a Mac
If you can't erase the entire drive for some reason, I'd at least create a new Admin user account and log in with that to delete all other user accounts. Here's an Apple article about it:
Under step 3:
To remove the home folder from your computer, select “Delete the home folder.” If you want to prevent programs that read raw data from retrieving any files, select “Erase home folder securely.”
I'd always “Delete the home folder” and preferably also “Erase home folder securely”.
I hope that's helpful. If you have more questions please let us know.
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Thank you @littlebobbytables and @sjk for your help! Good for pointing me out this is not a 1Password issue alone. But since 1Pssword is my center of security I first want to fix this. I am a little bit confused, if I delete 1Password and Dropbox on my harddisk, I'm not losing all my info.. So I think I need to first stop the syncing from my iMac to Dropbox, right? Sorry for the stupid questions.. ;o)
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Stupid questions would be asking after the iMac is no longer in your possession ;-) Beforehand is simply making sure you've done everything to ensure your information remains safe.
When I advised securely erasing the drive I'm assuming you have all your documents, your profile or even the entire drive backed up so you know you have copies of everything you need. After that it doesn't matter what was on your computer, what you synced to with whatever program, after the drive is erased and a fresh copy of OS X is placed the machine won't be syncing with any of your used services or holding any of your data at all.
The second main link posted by @sjk about what to do before selling or giving your mac away does include a good piece of advice about authorised devices and iTunes and maybe something important about iCloud but I don't use it so can't be certain (I'm a little uneasy about Apple's comment about possibly losing synced data over all devices - I don't see how that could happen if I erase the entire machine).
My suggestion takes care of all programs and data in one fell swoop; if you intend to handle them program by program you probably will have to be careful about the order you do things in e.g. don't delete data Dropbox syncs before stopping Dropbox (otherwise I assume it would sync the empty directory or missing file).
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Hi @SergeMerchez,
Are you going to use Migration Assistant and possibly Setup Assistant (see OS X: How to migrate data from another Mac using Mavericks) to transfer any data from your current iMac to new MacBook Pro?
Preferably you can keep the iMac (after making backups and doing any data transfers) until you're satisfied that applications you rely on, like 1Password, are running okay on the MBP. Then at least remove all user accounts and securely delete their home folders on the iMac before finally getting rid of it. That's easier than trying to figure out what's where to be removed and worry about overlooking something. :)
Even better, wipe the entire system clean:
My suggestion takes care of all programs and data in one fell swoop
As @littlebobbytables has helpfully suggested! :)
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Thanks again @littlebobbytables and @sjk! Good I asked this question beforehand.. ;o)
Really had no clue, so here's my gameplan:Back up my data using Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner.
Deauthorize my computer from iTunes.
Deselect the Find My Mac.
Sign out of iCloud. When you sign out of iCloud, you're asked whether you want to remove iCloud data from your Mac. Removing iCloud data in this way makes sure that the data isn't also removed from any of your other devices that are using the same iCloud account.
Sign out of iMessage:
In the Messages app, choose Preferences > Accounts.
Select the iMessage account, then click Sign Out.Sign out of Dropbox, stop syncing and remove data
Sign out of 1Password, remove dataSign out of Adobe Creative Cloud and remove apps
Sign out of Chrome, Garmin ANT agent, Evernote, Twitter apps etc..Reformat my hard drive and reinstall OS X.
Bring it to the Apple Store (because I still get 630€ for it) and bring home my New Macbook Pro!!
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I'm so glad to hear that @littlebobbytables and @sjk's suggestions helped you out here. Enjoy your shiny new MacBook Pro - we're here if you have any questions! :)
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