It is a pretty unknown trick to create hidden text files using nothing but Notepad, you can use this simple trick to hide plain text data without using any third-party utility.The text files created using the method below won't show anywhere in DOS or Windows irrespective of the hidden and system display file-settings, the files created using this can only be accessed if you know the correct file-name used while creating the file.Follow the steps :

- Launch Windows command prompt from Start Menu -> Run -> Type cmd and press Enter.

- Using DOS commands navigate to the desired folder.

- Now type in notepad VisibleFile.txt:HiddenFile.txt and hit Enter, you can change
VisibleFile.txt and HiddenFile.txt to names of your choice (notice the : between both file-names), You will be prompted to Create a New file click Yes.

- Now enter data you want to hide, save the file and close notepad.

- Visit the file-save location, you will see your VisibleFile.txt file (non-hidden) there, you can open the file and enter any text of your choice as any other normal text file.

- The hidden file HiddenFile.txt will not be visible under Windows Explorer or DOS.

- To open and read/write your hidden file, type in the command notepad VisibleFile.txt:HiddenFile.txt (change filenames with your own used during Step 3 above) at DOS command prompt and hit Enter.

Note : If the visible file (VisibleFile.txt) is deleted your hidden file (HiddenFile.txt) will also get deleted.

2 Comments:

  1. Anonymous said...
    This is fine, as long as you dont want to send the file to someone else. Passing through any non-NTFS system will strip the hidden data out. Zipping the file up wont stop this; the only way is to use the Windows Backup feature to creat a .bkf file, THEN send that out to be restored at the other end.
    Anonymous said...
    Unknown trick? What you're talking about is file streams, which people have known about for years. They were originally made part of NTFS as an attempt to have the same functionality on Apple machines so that files could be transfered between the two systems.

    Some malware and viruses have used streams to hide their contents for some time now.

    Furthermore, there are utilities that can list all of the streams associated with a file (one is named, ironically, "streams"), so it's not really hidden from anyone who is determined enough to be looking through your stuff anyway. It is also trivial to write such a utility.

    While slightly interesting to the uninitiated, advertising this as a way to "hide data" is dangerous. You might fool your little sister, but that's about it.

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