How to truly erase data from USB flash drives

A USB stick is a smart tool for anyone who needs to move large amounts of information between two different computers — or take a lot of files with them when travelling.

It’s simple to use: Just plug the little “memory stick” into your computer’s USB port and you can easily move files back and forth as if it were a hard drive on your computer. There are small USB sticks that cost just a few tens, and if you pay a little more, there are variants that hold several hundred gigabytes.

If you have an old USB stick that you want to clear of information, you can do this in two different ways.

The easiest is to insert it into your computer, open Explorer and click on My Computer. Right-click on your USB stick, select Format and follow the instructions.

Some USB sticks contain various pre-installed programs when you buy them, and sometimes formatting the stick is not enough to get rid of this. In this case, you can usually open the program itself and uninstall it from here.

For example, here’s how to get rid of U3 System from the Sandisk Cruzer USB stick:

Foundry

1. Insert the USB stick into your computer and start the U3 program by clicking on Launch U3. Click on U3 Launchpad Settings.
2. To remove the program, select Uninstall U3 Launchpad. Accept the uninstallation by pressing Next.
3. You will now be asked if you want to save your data or not, and you should now answer No to the question if you want to keep any files.
4. You will now receive a final warning and then you can format the USB stick. It will now be completely empty, and you can fill it to the brim with your own files.