What are the best practices for handling USB stick recognition and file access within a PHP environment, particularly in the context of web development using XAMPP?

When working with USB sticks in a PHP environment like XAMPP, it's important to ensure that the USB stick is properly recognized and that file access is secure. One way to achieve this is by using the PHP function `scandir()` to list the files and directories on the USB stick. Make sure to sanitize any user input to prevent potential security risks.

$usb_path = '/media/usbstick'; // Path to the USB stick
$files = scandir($usb_path);

foreach ($files as $file) {
    if ($file != '.' && $file != '..') {
        // Process each file or directory on the USB stick
        echo $file . "<br>";
    }
}