...Please note that I am not trying to recover files. I am merely using Recuva to test whether the disk wiping software I used to wipe the free space of my hard drive actually worked... (not CCleaner mind you)
After running a deep scan, I was dissapointed to see that some of the found files were "last modified" well before the wipe process date. However, after thinking it through some more, I realized that just because the files were modified before the wipe doesn't prove they were deleted before the wipe.
I ran this scan two days after I wiped my free space, so there was plenty of time for more files to have been automatically deleted before running said scan.
Therefore, these extraneous files must have been deleted sometime after the wipe process, and that's why they showed up after running the scan. Henceforth I have nothing to worry about.
Again, they were modified before the wipe, but they were deleted after the wipe.
Is my theory sound? Is it at least plausible?