Can I hide a directory ???

  • Thread starter Thread starter Pepe Duran
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Pepe Duran

Is there any software available that can "hide" a directory. ??
I work in a business that runs 24/7 and the other shifts modify my data
files.
I cant put the data onto floppy as the files are to large.
Thanks for any replies
 
Pepe Duran said:
Thanks for the quick reply.

How do I "unhide" it when I get back to work. ???
Click to expand...


Hidden directory's are viewable if the settings are correct.
I wouldnt unhide it, even if it's set to hidden you can still enter it and
it will work just fine.
 
Pepe said:
Thanks for the quick reply.

How do I "unhide" it when I get back to work. ???
Click to expand...

If you know the name of the hidden directory, you can just type it in
the address bar of Windows Explorer. It'll then be visible until you
close explorer.

Keep in mind that this might only dissuade the casual user. It's quite
easy to find hidden folders in windows. Depending on what info you
want to protect, and who you're protecting it from, you may want to
consider an encryption program like BestCrypt. With it, you can mount
your encrypted drive and you've now got a new drive letter. When you
unmount it, nobody can get at the contents.


-WD
 
Not really. You can make it "hidden" (a flag), but it
can still be seen with the right filemanager or the
option to "show all files".

Arno
 
What would happen if other shift decide to delete your data files? Or spill
something inside that PC? Every business need data security and recovery. I
would get USB Flash Drive at least.
 
Unfortunately WIN95 DOESN'T support USB.

Peter said:
What would happen if other shift decide to delete your data files? Or spill
something inside that PC? Every business need data security and recovery. I
would get USB Flash Drive at least.
Click to expand...
 
Microsoft Windows 95B has some USB support. There is USBSUPP.EXE to further
improve that support. Better yet, you can upgrade to Windows 98 SE to get
decent USB handling. If you have more PC power, you should go to Windows
2000 or XP. That will improve data security too.
 
Pepe said:
Is there any software available that can "hide" a directory. ??
I work in a business that runs 24/7 and the other shifts modify my
data files.
I cant put the data onto floppy as the files are to large.
Thanks for any replies
Click to expand...

Well, there are password encrytion programs out there that should do it.

However, there is one "trick" I've used in the past that, while not as
secure as encryption, works pretty well in keeping all but the most savy
of users from accessing your directory... if you're willing to do some
extra work. This "trick" works on all versions of Windows up to WinME.
It may work on the NT variety of Windows too (W2k, XP etc.), but I
haven't tried it!

Seems that the Windows GUI has troubles recognizing any file/folder name
that contains any ascii character with a value greater that 127. DOS's
command interpreter (either pure DOS or a DOS box) has no such problem.

As an example, I'll use a DOS box via "DOS Here" power toys. You can
also use "MS-DOS Prompt" available in the start menu. This will allow
you to use long file names... as opposed to pure DOS.

At the prompt (C:>) type "md My Directory" (without the quotes). Note
the space between "My" and "Directory". Instead of pressing the space-
bar, hold down the <ALT> key while typing 255 on the KEYPAD...
(i.e. md My<alt 255>Directory) then press enter. Type "exit" (no quotes)
to return to Windows.

Press <F5> to refresh the display and you will see a new folder called
"My_Directory". Try to access it however and you will receive an error
message (which varies). Even the powerfull WinFile will not be able to
access it... in effect, making it unavailable!

When YOU want to access it, you must, again, go to the DOS prompt and
rename it to something Windows can understand. At the prompt, type
"ren My<alt255>Directory My_Directory" (again, no quotes). Note how we
changed the <alt255) character to an ordinary underscore?. Press enter,
type "exit" and refreh and you're in bussiness. Explorer will still show
it as "My_Directory", but now you'll have full access to it.

Do the reverse when you want to hide it again:
ren My_Directory My<alt255>Directory

You can automate it somewhat by making a couple of .BAT files...
Just substitute the appropriate drive/directory/path as required:

HIDE.BAT
@echo off
if exist My_Directory ren My_Directory My<alt255>Directory

UNHIDE.BAT
@echo off
if exist My<alt255>Directory ren My<alt255>Directory My_Directory

NOTE: 1. Remember, <alt255> means holding down the alt key while tapping
255 on the keypad!
2. Do NOT put these .BAT files into the MY_Directory folder or
you'll defeat the purpose since you will not be able to use
Explorer to access "UNHIDE.BAT"!

Hope this makes sense and helps,

Charlie LegMan (remove 999 for eMail)
 
LegMan said:
Well, there are password encrytion programs out there that should do it.

However, there is one "trick" I've used in the past that, while not as
secure as encryption, works pretty well in keeping all but the most savy
of users from accessing your directory... if you're willing to do some
extra work. This "trick" works on all versions of Windows up to WinME.
It may work on the NT variety of Windows too (W2k, XP etc.), but I
haven't tried it!
Click to expand...

Nope, doesn't work on 2K. On the NT family just don't allow other users
access.
 
Ok I have done it.
Solution was .....Use Acronis OS selector, create a 5Mb partition, and hide
the partition. Brilliant.
 
Ok I have done it.
Solution was .....Use Acronis OS selector, create a 5Mb partition, and hide
the partition. Brilliant.
Click to expand...

Here's a simple solution you could have used too. Use Winzip or WinRAR
to compress the folder at the end of each shift and password protect
the compressed file. Then just uncompress it at the beginning of each
shift.
 
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