Hide Folder Ext

In Poe's story The Purloined Letter, a thief confounds the Paris police who are seeking a stolen letter; detective C. Auguste Dupin finds it hidden in plain sight. FS Pro's Hide Folder Ext ($29.95 direct) takes this concept to the next level. The files it hides aren't in plain sight; they're not visible at all. A few clues might reveal that something is hidden, but simple precautions make discovery unlikely.

Hide Folder Ext is specifically designed to hide files on removable drives. You can use it on USB flash drives, memory cards, or other similar devices. The product does warn against using it on memory belonging to other devices such as smartphones and tablets. Note, too, that it doesn't encrypt files; it just hides them.

Hide and Unhide
To hide files on a removable device you simply launch the program, select the device, and define a password. This creates a folder named My Hidden Folder, which you can open right away within the program. When not hidden it acts like any other folder. You can drag or copy/paste files and folders into or out of the hidden folder, edit the files it contains, or create new files. When finished, you simply click Hide & Quit. Clicking Quit instead leaves the folder visible, so be careful which you choose.

You can create hidden folders on as many devices as you like. When you select a device that contains a hidden folder, Hide Folder Ext will ask for the password unhide the folder. If the device has been prepped with a My Hidden Folder that's currently not hidden, it will prompt for a password (either the same password or a new one) to hide the folder.

Hidden, But Not Undetectable
Let's suppose detective C. Auguste Dupin, searching for a file containing sensitive personal information about a client, has obtained a removable drive as evidence. He views it in Windows Explorer and finds that the drive is empty. Or is it? On opening the properties window for the drive he finds half of its capacity is in use. An empty drive that's half full?there's a conundrum!

Dupin now launches the command-line utility CHKDSK, with surprising results. This "empty" drive contains a hidden file and dozens of other files. Windows is fooled; CHKDSK isn't. Worse, CHKDSK's /V switch lists all files and folders on the drive, including the supposedly hidden ones.

At this point Dupin, convinced that the drive does indeed contain the sought-after data, launches a sector editor. This tool lets him view all data stored on the drive without any regard for files, folders, or other organizational techniques. By searching on terms related to the sensitive data, he locates and reassembles the sectors comprising the file. Mystery solved!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/LrdbErNnMWM/0,2817,2400593,00.asp

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