Re: How to hide a file ? (From most people)

["Patrick Chambet" <patrick.chambet () edelweb fr>]

Another way to hide files in Windows Explorer (not from clever people)
is to use some particular CLSIDs and to append them to the name of a
directory or even to the names of the files themselves. A useful CLSID
is the Control Panel one: {21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}.

Example 1:

- Create a text file C:\test.txt
- Rename it: C:\Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

Its icon changes and looks like the real Control Panel. If you
double-click on it, the Control Panel opens. But you can easily edit it
with Notepad, provinding its full path.

Example 2: to hide several files in one operation

- Create a directory C:\testdir
- Create some files in this directory
- Rename the directory: C:\Control
Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

Once again, its icon changes and looks like the real Control Panel. If
you double-click on it, the Control Panel opens. The files inside the
directory are invisible.
To edit them, you can either rename the directory back to C:\testdir
(but Windows Explorer can't do it) or access the files directly by their
full path.

Note that a search to find the files fails !

Of course, you can try better CLSIDs, but this is another story... ;-)

___________________________________________
Patrick Chambet - MCP
IT Security Consulting
EdelWeb - ON-X Consulting Group
http://www.edelweb.fr - http://www.on-x.com