Wiping the slate clean

THE LEAST GLAMOROUS features can prove most valuable. Monterey’s new command to Erase All Contents and Settings (EACAS) may appear specialist, only useful when passing your Mac on to someone else. But if your Mac has a T2 or M1 chip, it turns out to be a quick and reliable way to clean it for other reasons, so much so that those with older Intel systems, which aren’t supported, are calling for it.

At its heart, this works by throwing away the encryption keys for the Data volume on the Mac’s internal SSD, which effectively wipes the entire contents without having to delete any data. As it leaves macOS intact, it completely resets that Mac to factory condition in a single command. However, it relies on features that only come with the added security of the T2 or M1, another excellent reason for upgrading.