That's bad news Tom but you're obviously doing as well as possible just by the sound of your post. Like everyone said, you are always welcome here and we'd ask you to stick around. In the meantime, keep your focus on the important stuff.

To answer your question, I can't speak for Macs but I'd think it's much the same as PC's but clearing cache, emptying your recycle bin, etc, are all good to keep the superficial snoop out but a full professional forensic examination will find all kinds of stuff you thought was long gone. Some might just be fragments but a good examiner can figure it out. The only sure way to destroy data on your HD is to incinerate it and then blow it up and scatter its remnants in the ocean. I have worked with some forensic computer investigators in the criminal context and that is what I have learned from dealing with them. They have even recovered data from a laptop that was burned to a crisp.

I'll explain FF if you need me to.

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