erase

Definition: To remove or wipe a recording from a disk, tape or other recording medium (usually magnetic) so that it is then impossible to reconstruct the original record. * A recording can be erased by scrambling the medium with a high frequency or random signal or by writing over it with a new recording. * Most operating systems simply delete files and only specialist utility programs offer a true erase.
Deleting all evidence is not erasure
It's better not to be confused as to the difference between erasure and deletion. If you delete a file, you can get it back again provided you haven't written over it on the storage medium. But if you erase it, no-one can retrieve it as it will contain no data or only gibberish. In fact the best way to erase something is to write a file full of nonsense over it. Fortunately, criminal types often don't know the difference, making the job of forensic computing much easier.

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