Chosen Solution
Hi! I have been trying to remove databases in my Safari cache forever. I went to the Apple support page and it says to go to ~/Library/Safari/Databases and remove the folder entitled “Databases” but no such folder named exactly that exists. There are files named “___IndexedDB” and “Databases.db” and a plethora of folders beneath with the names of many of the “database” cookies I am trying to remove but I am concerned about moving all at once as I have banking links that use them to ID me I am sure. I tried to drag the suspect folders to the trash but this did not remove them from the “manage website” Safari preferences page that allows you to delete cookies. Any ideas on how to manage this? I really do not need Orbitz or Free People following me for life. Thanks!!
This works for me: Open Finder, then click on “Go” in the menu on top the screen Then “Go to Folder” Type or past in and then enter: ~/Library/Safari/Databases Delete everything in that folder Close Safari and reopen (The databases will reappear when you again visit those websites)
The brut force way is just creating a new user account and then deleting the old one! Just make sure you have nothing in the users home folder which you want (copy it over before you delete it). You will loose your Safari bookmarks unless you copy them out first as well as your user accounts & passwords for any online services so make note of them as well I have four accounts on my system to help protect it as well as offer a means to isolate what type of transactions I’m doing over the net. As an example I have an account which I use strictly for my online banking, I have a second one for any buying I do and a third which I use for general surfing. The last is the most protected the Admin account (renamed of course) I only use it to install and maintain my apps. I don’t have a guest account on my laptop but I do have on my home system. Using this approach I can jettison any compromised user account as well as prevent someone tracking some of my activities. Don’t forget about opening a Private window option under File within Safari so you aren’t tracked and lastly use a good software firewall & antivirus/malware app! Here’s a good writeup for travelers now that your systems contents could be exposed: The paranoid Mac traveler’s 10-point data protection checklist.
