Search of Encrypted Files
Navigation:
Find Password Protected
Files > Search of Encrypted Files (zip, PDF, MS OFFICE, PGP disk)
Find
Protected designed to search for hidden password protected files on
local disks and across a network.
|
Here we consider methods of searching of ordinary encrypted files. This section refers only to an encrypted, but not hidden file; methods of searching of renamed and nested files are given below.
To start with, let's examine the easiest, cheapest, but yet the most cumbersome way: a user is manually looking for an encrypted file by a linear search through all files of the certain application stored on the hard disk. Assume that a very important (and hence encrypted to make it unavailable for outsiders) MS Word document has been lost.
Furthermore, the user doesn't remember neither name of the file nor a drive that stores it, and there are other encrypted files on the hard disk. At first the user seeks to get a full list of files with extension .doc stored on his computer using any available search tool, say, the option Find of MS Windows. Then he has to open one by one all these files till he finds one that requests password when opening. But it is just any of the encrypted files, not necessarily the required one. Obviously, this operation consumes a lot of time. The same procedure is needed to find, say, an encrypted zip archive, pdf document, or PGP disk, note that the latter is always protected with a password.
The following method makes the search much easier due to use of a computer-aided tool - special software. This software is based on a similar to the above procedure algorithm of searching of encrypted files. If the file format allows encryption there is a special flag within the file which indicates that the file has been encrypted. The flag value, size and position differ for different file formats. If the flag is set the file is encrypted. So, by checking the values of this flag the software program indicates the files with the flag set. As a result the user gets not a full list of files with the certain extension but only encrypted ones, that allows to save a lot of time.
Moreover, the search becomes much easier if there is some additional data, for example, the user can remember approximate time of his last addressing to the file or can estimate its size. The file contains this data as well. So, as a rule, developers of good software seek to include additional options (search of files by creation date, last modified date, or last accessed date). The applications may operate within the search area limited by files in specified size range, or their location.
YOUR FEEDBACK
Please, let us know what you
think about this article:
|