"When you use the 'rm' utility, you may think that you're deleting a file, but you're not. All you're doing is removing the file's index--or, inode number--from the hard drive. The file is still there, and can still be recovered, as long as you don't overwrite the space that it occupies with another file. (Even then, recovery experts still might be able to retrieve it.)
"If you have sensitive files that you need to delete, consider using 'shred'. This handy utility will overwrite a file with gibberish multiple times, and optionally, will delete the file..."
