How to hide folders in Windows XP - A Superb way

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

I have come across many methods to hide folders in XP, but I personally like this very much because its very easy, fast & useful. Also, showing off this trick before your friends will definitely fetch your ears a big WOW !

You can use this to hide your folder in an office computer, in a public browsing center or even your own friends computer.

Ok now lets get ready. Here is the scenario. I have got a folder which I need to keep as a secret in my PC. I will show two alternatives to do it by using the same trick.

Method 1:-

  1. Copy the folder to your C:\ (Any other location is also fine)
  2. Right click it, click Properties. Now select the Customize tab.
  3. Choose 'Change Icon' under folder icons.
  4. Choose a file icon (INI, TXT or Icon for files without extension)
  5. Then apply it, and rename it to something obvious like Instlog.ini, boot.ini, Tmplog etc.
  6. This method has proved to be very effective as no one will even care to open a temp file, ini file or a file without extension. Check this picture for final result.

    I did this in my office computer. I had almost 10-15 games and movies, but my Manager was never able to find any even after using the PC for 3 days :)

Method 2 (Another variation) :-

  1. Repeat the first 3 steps as given above.
  2. This time don't place the folder in C:\ D:\ Directly. Instead you should create a folder called Recycler, Recycled etc. and place the secret folder in it.
  3. While choosing icon choose the blank icon. Click here for Figure.
  4. Now apply and you will see the icon is invisible !
  5. But there is still a name floating, so make the name also blank.

    WAIT A MINUTE. I CAN'T USE THE SPACEBAR OR BLANK AS NAME !
  6. Here is the solution. Select the folder and press F2. Now hold down ALT key and press 255 on the num keypad then release the ALT key and press ENTER.
  7. Now I think I can hear a WOW :)

Update:- Well, I'm not trying to say that this is the best way to hide folders on XP. But you might like it as it is easy and fast to do. Moreover it does look cool when the icon is completely blank even if its not for hiding.

Under
  1. Anonymous
    6/18/2008 5:00 PM

    Hmmmm... but if we search a file say *.mpg then this is a flop.

    n

    we can use Alt+0160 as an alternative.

  2. balal
    6/20/2008 12:10 AM

    Hey. These ideas work if you are sharing your computer with non geeks. But even normal users do search with extensions and then all these will fail. Still these are some ' good to know' ideas. One another method is to use the System Volume information region.
    Type 'C:\system volume information' without quotes it to the address bar and you will be taken to this place.
    Remember:
    1. The windoews search does not search this region. So users cant find files by search
    2. This folder is available in all partitions
    3. If you use the disk clean up to remove the recent restore point then the files in here will be deleted. This feature can be used to delete these files without really accesing it.
    4. if you visit system volume information, the address bar will show this in history. Delete the explorer history after every use if you wish to be undetected always.

  3. എ.ജെ.
    6/21/2008 10:22 AM

    Thanks Raj for these tips....
    Thanks to Balal also...

  4. balal
    6/21/2008 10:39 AM

    nice to hear that thanks on Techola. its all right

  5. Quakeboy
    6/21/2008 10:49 AM

    Great tips Balal...
    I never knew that..

  6. Quakeboy
    6/21/2008 10:50 AM

    What I do usually.. is rename the file along with extension

    1.mpg to mmapi.dll or autorun.inf :)

  7. balal
    6/21/2008 11:03 AM

    Now remaning of file should work. Thats a great idea. But renaiming in XP or other windoes just changes the name alone, not the extention (unless you have selected to display extensions for known files fron Folder options).

    So I think you should consider renaming in command prompt.

    for the non geeks :
    Start menu> run > type 'cmd' without quotes there > The window that open up is the command prompt, it will be open with the windows folder > navigate to the folder where your file is (type ' cd c:\folderone\foldertwo ' without the quotes if your file to be renamed is in folder two ) > now type 'ren filename.mpg newname.dll' without the quotes where filename.mpg is the name of the origional file and newname.dll is the new name)

    Geeks please excuse...

  8. Anonymous
    6/23/2008 5:06 PM

    @Balal..

    I searched the folder say 'RP465'in the folder 'System Volume Information' n the search result displayed it.
    BTW I removed the access permission to the folder 'System Volume Information' n this time your first statement was true(The windoews search does not search this region. So users cant find files by search).

    wat say? :)

  9. balal
    6/23/2008 6:46 PM

    @ Anonymous

    Yeah, you have to disable access rights. Actually the system volume information must be a final refuge, if you cant find any other place. Sometimes even non geeks can create problems.. they might erase the recovery files and all files stored there will be wiped out. Still system volume information is better than a normal folder

  10. Anonymous
    6/26/2008 12:52 PM

    @ Balal

    Back again with a better idea. Its a bit tedious...anyways give a try.

    step 1: create a folder.

    step 2: go to regedit. search for the folder CLSID(You might find many SUB FOLDERS,I'm talking about the single main folder) under the hive HKEY_CLASSES _ROOT. You can find hell lot of sub-folders under this CLSID.

    Step 3: Now search the value say,
    {208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}. This value belongs to my network places(cross verify it on the right side)

    Step 4: Now rename the folder u created earlier say 'My Network places.{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}'(without quotes).

    Its done... Now try to fish the contents of the folder..... ooops, there's no folder any more???

    You can also do with other objects avilable in control panel i guess... all u have to put ur head in fishin' out these values from registry..

  11. balal
    6/26/2008 1:54 PM

    @ Anonymous

    Thats a carzy thing to do.. I havnt tried it, but i think its gonna work. Will that folder show up in third party browsers like the browser of NERO STARTSMART..? I have a software named Privacy Maker. Thats awesome software and its hiding is the best I have ever seen

  12. Kim
    6/30/2008 6:51 PM

    Thanks for the tips.

  13. Anonymous
    7/21/2008 1:30 AM

    That’s a nice tip for hiding files and folders without using any 3rd party software, but it can easily be bypassed as mentioned above.
    If you would like a really cool, easy and secure way to hide files on your computer, you should check out http://cybercloak.com
    They even have videos with other stuff hidden inside them!
    The panic button is one of my favorite features.

    It’s by far the best encryption program I have tried

  14. Anonymous
    8/06/2011 8:36 AM

    what the hell r u alltrying to hide and from whom???

  15. Anonymous
    12/28/2011 5:11 PM

    Awesome Man!!!! yoU aRe A GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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