I apologize for asking this here. My question is not about data recovery, but I figured you guys are probably experts in this matter. I have a few questions:

I tried to use ATA Secure Erase option of GNOME Disks in Ubuntu, but the option is disabled and grayed-out. Any ideas why? According to hdparm, my SSD supports ATA Secure Erase and it is not frozen.

So using hdparm is my only option, but it is too intimidating and advanced for me.

Why do I need to set a password before issuing the ATA Secure Erase command with hdparm? What does this password do?

https://ata.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/ATA_Secure_Erase#Step_2_-_Enable_security_by_setting_a_user_password:

This article suggests that I should not issue the hdparm command on a disk connected with USB. My SSD is connected with SATA and I am using a live Ubuntu USB flash to perform this task.

Is there anything I should know before issuing the ATA Secure Erase command?