Erasing files in Ubuntu: other devices still see the files

[Dotan Cohen]

I have a 1GB USB memory stick. It had photos and text files stored on
it, which I deleted on my Ubuntu (KDE) desktop machine. I then copied
four video files to the stick and put it in my DVD player (which reads
USB sticks as well). The photos and text files were still visible. I
then removed the stick and placed in another Ubuntu (also KDE)
machine, and all I could see were the video files.

What gives? Why are these erased files still visible to other
computers? And why can other Ubuntu machines not see the files? How
can I be sure that sensitive documents that I've erased are in fact
gone?

Dotan Cohen

http://what-is-what.com
http://gibberish.co.il
א-ב-ג-ד-ה-ו-ז-ח-ט-י-ך-כ-ל-ם-מ-ן-נ-ס-ע-ף-פ-ץ-צ-ק-ר-ש-ת

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?