File Hider v2 updated, packed for PortableApps.com

(on desktop) right click>new>zipped folder. then drop all of your stuff into it. after, open it then file>add a password. this makes it able to have read and write capeabilities through enableing and disabling the password.

this is only if you want to go through the effort of enableing and disabling the password. otherwise i am going to try this prog. seems better, MUCH BETTER!!

I'll probably get in trouble for posting this here but....

Espreon, your signature mentions installing Linux or FreeBSD on yer windows comp. can this be done as a dual boot without having to create a partition?

That's part of a developer's job description, you know. So here I am, ready to help you meet your job requirements.

This is a nice concept, but I am sorry to say, the app seems to do absolutely nothing to files I tried to hide.

I've tried running it from my usb external hard-drive, from a flash drive, and from the c-drive. (test on 3 computers, all XP Pro SP2.)
I even made sure to set folder view to hide hidden files and hide system files, even though this is not my normal setup (plus, any IT manager worth his salt will un-hide every type of file when scanning a managed computer, so don't count on those settings to be bullet-proof. If I am understanding these forum posts and the read-me, this app relies on "hidden system files" to mask files.)

I tried hiding files that are on the same drive (and even the same folder) that the app is installed in, and on other drives. I typed in the full path and file name into the input box.
Is there something else that needs to be done that is not mentioned in the little read-me?

Also, on my home pc (XP PRO SP2, dual processors), when I start the app, I always get error message that "there is no disk in drive xxxx, please insert disk ....". I click "Continue", and the app loads, looking normal. I get no error message on other pc's I have tried.

Hope you get the kinks out. I'll try again on your next version.
Thanks.

It looks from the description that you are making a gui to set files to "hidden" as a way of hiding them. Is that the case?

If so, has no one mentioned that Explorer can be set to show hidden files and folders by default? Most everyone I know turns that on by default. This means that files your app works on are just as visible in Explorer set that way. Even if not, other tools can find them easily.

If you are doing something else to hide them, we might want to work on the description so those as dense as I can figure out what you are doing.

As far as I know about the only way to really hide something is to encrypt it (e.g. with AES or Blowfish). The ZIP programs do some "password protection" but those tend to be notoriously easy for someone to break into. 7zip can do a form of AES, which is better. Toucan and Truecrypt are other options.

In this context "hide" means "keep prying eyes out". There are simple ways of doing this for honest people, but for most of us it is not just honest people we want to keep out of our files but adversaries of one sort or another. While having an encrypted file out there may not hide the file, with strong enough encryption you don't need to worry (much) that someone is able to get into it to see its contents even if they can see the file itself.