Developer(s) | Inv Softworks |
---|---|
Stable release | 2.7 / October 12, 2018 |
Written in | C++ |
Operating system | Windows |
Available in | English |
Type | Hex editor |
License | Proprietary (free for non-commercial use) |
Website | www |
FlexHex is a freeware hex editor for Microsoft Windows that can edit files, NTFS alternate streams and sparse data, OLE compound files, logical disks, and physical drives. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
FlexHex uses the 'edit stack' model, representing the file being edited as the unchanged original stream and a stack of primitive editing operations. The original file is kept intact and gets modified only when the user selects the Save command. The advantages of this model are 1) the file does not need to be read into memory so there is no file size limit, and 2) an unlimited Undo/Redo list can be implemented simply by traversing the operation stack.
FlexHex is written on Visual C++ and MFC, which makes it very fast while keeping the size small enough.
In addition to the standard features more or less typical for other hex editors, FlexHex offers a few unique ones. Specifically, FlexHex is the only hex editor that can create or edit NTFS alternate streams, sparse files, and OLE structured storage.
A text editor is a type of computer program that edits plain text. Such programs are sometimes known as "notepad" software. Text editors are provided with operating systems and software development packages, and can be used to change files such as configuration files, documentation files and programming language source code.
New Technology File System (NTFS) is a proprietary journaling file system developed by Microsoft. Starting with Windows NT 3.1, it is the default file system of the Windows NT family. It superseded File Allocation Table (FAT) as the preferred filesystem on Windows and is supported in Linux and BSD as well. NTFS reading and writing support is provided using a free and open-source kernel implementation known as NTFS3 in Linux and the NTFS-3G driver in BSD. By using the convert
command, Windows can convert FAT32/16/12 into NTFS without the need to rewrite all files. NTFS uses several files typically hidden from the user to store metadata about other files stored on the drive which can help improve speed and performance when reading data. Unlike FAT and High Performance File System (HPFS), NTFS supports access control lists (ACLs), filesystem encryption, transparent compression, sparse files and file system journaling. NTFS also supports shadow copy to allow backups of a system while it is running, but the functionality of the shadow copies varies between different versions of Windows.
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A forensic disk controller or hardware write-block device is a specialized type of computer hard disk controller made for the purpose of gaining read-only access to computer hard drives without the risk of damaging the drive's contents. The device is named forensic because its most common application is for use in investigations where a computer hard drive may contain evidence. Such a controller historically has been made in the form of a dongle that fits between a computer and an IDE or SCSI hard drive, but with the advent of USB and SATA, forensic disk controllers supporting these newer technologies have become widespread. Steve Bress and Mark Menz invented hard drive write blocking.
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