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Create an Invisible Folder

Update: This is not a secure hack. It is designed to hide your files from some one who is browsing through files, not your system admin, not your computer hacker friends. Think of it like hiding your money under the mattress, if some one really wants to find it they will, but if they are not looking for it they wont find it. It’s a fun trick and it works best on your desktop (just remember where you placed it)

You ever have a folder on your computer that you really dont want any one to find? You can make this folder hidden but then you have to un-hide all the folders when ever you want to find it. So how can you make a folder truly invisible? Follow these simple steps and your unmentionables will stay that way.

1. Right click where ever you want the invisible folder to be and select create a new folder.

stepone.jpg
2. Right Click on the folder and hit rename. Erase the name of the folder so there is nothing there.

3. If you try to stop here windows will tell you that you need to provide a name. So to get around this… with the name field still active hold down ALT and press 0160 on the number pad (make sure Num Lock is on), release alt

step2.jpg

You should now have a blank name with nothing but a folder next to it

4. Now click on the nameless folder and right click. Select Properties.

step4.jpg

5. Go to the Customize tab.

step5.jpg

6. Find and press the Change Icon button. Scroll through the icons until you find one that has no image.

step6.jpg

4. Hit OK and you have an invisible folder!

invisible.jpg

With the invisible folder you can hide what ever undesirables you have. Be it video games at work, pictures of your family or anything else you can think of “wink”.

The folder will show up for a brief second if you put it on your desktop. For that reason it might be smart to place it inside a folder or amongst a group of folders.

Happy Hiding!




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197 Responses for "Create an Invisible Folder"

  1. Absolute Vengeance October 10th, 2007 at 10:25 am

    First!!!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. The Guy Above me.... October 10th, 2007 at 11:07 am

    IS A HOMO!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. Ben October 10th, 2007 at 1:39 pm

    Hm. That’s nifty. I hadn’t thought of doing such a thing. It isn’t very secure though. The status bar at the bottom of the explorer window tells how many items there are… and running the tree command from the command prompt would flush it out too. hehe. I guess if you’re a teenage boy hiding his porn stash from his computer-challenged parents it works wonders. Oh. It is possible to get to a hidden folder without unhiding all the folders. You can type the location of the folder in the address bar. :) like if I had a folder called secret hidden in C:\Program Files i could type C:\program files\secret. :) :)

  4. Sam Smiley October 10th, 2007 at 1:44 pm

    Great, but how do you delete it later?

  5. revenuerobot October 10th, 2007 at 2:29 pm

    LOL… and yet i thought i was the only one with private files….

  6. Solanum Tuberosum October 10th, 2007 at 4:04 pm

    The thing is, when you go to it, there tends to be a dotted rectangle around it. That can give it’s location away.

  7. To Smiley October 10th, 2007 at 4:06 pm

    You can still select it, you just cannot see it

  8. Xvi October 10th, 2007 at 6:00 pm

    Easier… Just make the icon a help file or something of the sort and name the folder appropriately.

  9. Gern October 10th, 2007 at 7:30 pm

    The point is, someone would have to be looking for it. Who really scrutinizes the # of items listed or uses tree and double checks things like that?

  10. meneame.net October 10th, 2007 at 7:48 pm

    Crear una carpeta "invisible" en windows [ENG]…

    Bastante básico, pero funcionaria para usuarios inexpertos…….

  11. frink October 10th, 2007 at 11:09 pm

    yeah, back in the days of windows 3.x and 95/98, this trick was the bomb. you could go into DOS and change the name of the folder, which would totally fuck up windows – it wouldn’t even be able to open the folder.

  12. Boulderash October 10th, 2007 at 11:26 pm

    Very interesting article!

  13. Blek October 10th, 2007 at 11:28 pm

    Yeah I’m having problems deleting and renaming it. I can change the icon but I can’t get rid of it!!!

  14. Chat Marchet News Digest » How to Create an “Invisible” Folder for Your, um, “Private” Files October 10th, 2007 at 11:32 pm

    [...] The whole scoop. This entry was posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2007 at 3:06 am and is filed under le Chat Marchet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. [...]

  15. noname October 10th, 2007 at 11:33 pm

    Uh! Brilliant! But not that enough brilliant when you can still notice there’s a folder exist when you set the view to details.. LOL!!!

  16. Gecko October 10th, 2007 at 11:34 pm

    I’ve made the name of the folder “advsys32.dll” and changed the icon to a dll icon, then shoved it in the windows directory…

  17. zameer October 10th, 2007 at 11:42 pm

    That is so lame…
    If you really want to do
    attrib foldername +h +s

    even that ain’t true inivisbility.
    Why not just use NTFS folder security

  18. Linno October 11th, 2007 at 12:10 am

    Nowhere does this item say “Windows”. Does the author also assume everyone is a straight white male?

  19. pligg.com October 11th, 2007 at 12:13 am

    Make your computer folders invisible…

    You ever have a folder on your computer that you really dont want any one to find? You can make this folder hidden but then you have to un-hide all the folders when ever you want to find it. So how can you make a folder truly invisible? Follow these si…

  20. Boobah October 11th, 2007 at 12:22 am

    Yeah.. how do you erase it?

  21. syahid ali October 11th, 2007 at 12:24 am

    nice tweak man.

  22. Pendelton October 11th, 2007 at 12:26 am

    In Thumbnails view it appears as a ghostly square with a little square beneath where the name should be. In Details view it appears as a blank but there’s still the File Folder and date next to an empty space.

  23. uhhhhh October 11th, 2007 at 12:28 am

    if you want to make it truely invisible

    justs make it “invisible” then make it hidden, when you want to gain access to it just nav to teh directory its in and type alt+0160 and your in

  24. Hide folders with invisible trick « All About Mobile…. October 11th, 2007 at 12:29 am

    [...] folders with invisible trick Accrding to Jeff Dempsey You ever have a folder on your computer that you really dont want any one to find? You can make [...]

  25. Nathaniel October 11th, 2007 at 12:31 am

    It is so much easier to just right click on the folder and click the “hidden” check box. You just name the folder something that seems important but forgettable. Then to access it you just have to type it into the address bar in explorer. I use this for all my “private” files. Now that I think about it, it might be a good idea to incorporate the alt code method into this strategy. This way you have to use the alt code in the address bar in order to access that folder. Not a bad idea.

  26. How To Hide A Folder On Your Computer | The How To Do Things Blog October 11th, 2007 at 12:36 am

    [...] shows you a clever way to hide a folder on your computer. It is not fool-proof (because you can always "search" [...]

  27. Kate October 11th, 2007 at 12:43 am

    Can you make a folder only accessible by password?

  28. eki October 11th, 2007 at 12:45 am

    yeah i like the attrib command better

    in dos write :

    attrib +s +h folder_name

  29. Vista Suck October 11th, 2007 at 12:46 am

    Duh! Doesn’t work on vista though. damn microsoft!

  30. Corey October 11th, 2007 at 12:49 am

    Here’s an idea. Why not just put your unmentionables in a folder with an inconspicuous name.. like… Reg_0×3421_C3442 or some bullshit filename and throw it in a temp folder or a cache nested deep in some program directory. Hell, you can put it in office the office folder and call it “Office Cache” or something like that. No one is going to look at it, because people dont browse through those sorts of folders.

    It’s way more likely you are going to be found if you are trying to do something sneaky. If someone notices it, it will stand out.

  31. Donald Chump October 11th, 2007 at 12:49 am

    HOW TO DELETE THIS

    Thanks again for posting this without any warning on how to delete it…

    Go into command prompt. Get into the directory your folder is in by using “CD FOLDERNAME” (no quotes)
    Type: ren “Alt+0+1+6+0″ FOLDERNAME (do use quotes)
    It should appear in command prompt as:
    ren ” ” XXXXNEWNAMEXXXX
    The space between the quotes appears after you use the same method of holding alt and typing 0160 like when you made the folder and FOLDERNAME is a new name for it

    Then… FIND THE SON OF A BITCH AND DELETE HIM

  32. lame October 11th, 2007 at 12:53 am

    The first thing anyone will do looking for “dodgy” files is do a search for them.
    This won’t stop a search from dragging up all your files.

    This might fool your mother, but anyone with minimal computer skills wouldn’t be fooled by this.

  33. Tony October 11th, 2007 at 12:57 am

    If you want to stop the casual user getting to your files, remove all permissions for everyone except 1 account that is not yours and “SYSTEM”. Then when even you try to get in it will deny you access. Simply re-add yourself to the security tab(Your “administrators” group makes this possible), and your back in again!

  34. tbf October 11th, 2007 at 1:00 am

    Dude… it’s much easier to just hide a folder named, say, “secret” on your documents folder. Hide it and whenever you want to access it, when in the documents folder, type “secret” in the url bar… yes just replace the whole path with secret, hit enter and you’re inside the really secret folder without having to turn it visible.

  35. This is Lame. October 11th, 2007 at 1:01 am

    I tried to do this on my Mac and it didn’t work…

    But seriously, this is lame like a lame thing with a certificate of lameness from the university of lameness, lamesville, lametown, laemonia.
    If you’re that bothered about people finding your files don’t keep them on a shared computer in the first place., keep them on a USB flash drive or something.

  36. Andrew October 11th, 2007 at 1:13 am

    This is probably the most perfect thing in the world for stashing a huge pr0n folder on your parents computer. its so much easier than making a hidden folder and just as effective if you have computer illeterate parents like most of us do.

  37. In Hiding « Working With Ants October 11th, 2007 at 1:14 am

    [...] October 11, 2007 at 8:14 am · Filed under Uncategorized This is a good one especially if you want to hide files in your Windows environment. There are many tools out there but this one is cute… Making your folder INVISIBLE! [...]

  38. bob October 11th, 2007 at 1:31 am

    yeah, how do you delete it? i just created a nameless folder using the 0160 thing – but it can’t be moved or deleted… or renamed…

  39. Better yet, just put the folder somewhere noone will look, like C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\1728 or C:\PROGRAM FILES\MICROSOFT OFFICE\CABS\1496. If you really have to, then put the files in WINRAR with a password and rename the file with no extension. October 11th, 2007 at 1:42 am

    Hi

  40. pligg.com October 11th, 2007 at 1:56 am

    Make your computer folders invisible and never get caught again…

    You ever have a folder on your computer that you really dont want any one to find? You can make this folder hidden but then you have to un-hide all the folders when ever you want to find it….

  41. Rick October 11th, 2007 at 2:32 am

    What about when people do a search on the computer and the files inside happen to come up?

  42. CK October 11th, 2007 at 2:41 am

    good ONE.!!

  43. Bumpsta October 11th, 2007 at 3:06 am

    yall are dumb get a mac, have a lock box dmg style yo

  44. Myran October 11th, 2007 at 3:08 am

    What about the hole it will leave between the folders and files in explorer? Kinda crappy, just encrypt it or put it in some really obscure place instead.

  45. James October 11th, 2007 at 3:20 am

    Good one, simple but I will be using this for my Smut folder so it doesn’t show up again next time I’m showing my family holiday snaps on my laptop!

  46. subcorpus October 11th, 2007 at 3:31 am

    am gonna try this on a mac …
    may be something like this would work on a mac as well …
    and yes … it doesnt help with the dotted lines around the folder …
    you sure dont want people to see 700MB renamed dll files inside that folder …
    the size of the file will give you away … wink wink … hehe …

  47. Enchance October 11th, 2007 at 3:32 am

    Still the best place to hide all your secret stuff is in the PRINTER FOLDER! As in it really works since nobody really looks in it anyway. C’mon, when was the last time you opened your printer folder? I’ve gone from Mac to Windows to several Linux distros and not once have I opened my printer folder.

  48. Leon October 11th, 2007 at 3:37 am

    Good way to hide from an occasional glance through your folders.
    But mind you if you search for *.avi stuff will show up!
    Click on open containing folder and you are exposed.

    So to counter that :
    1) put all you files in a new directory in the invisible folder
    2) zip it with a long password
    3) rename the zipfile to an unlikely search string without the zip extension (fi s3cr3t)

    BTW Beware of the recent accessed file listings,
    like the ones that show up in start >> documents

    Leon

  49. JRA October 11th, 2007 at 4:01 am

    You could also use Alternate Data Streams on NTFS to make those files even more hidden and hard to discover.

  50. easytocrack October 11th, 2007 at 4:10 am

    this works well for n00bs. Any normal user can just open it in DOS and change its properties.

  51. Rick October 11th, 2007 at 4:17 am

    Don’t forget that any files you open from it will show in the recent documents list in the start menu, and in the recent documents lists in whichever programs you used to open the files. Be sure to take appropriate measures (clear MRU lists or set them not to display).

  52. How to create an invisible folder « Xntric pundits October 11th, 2007 at 4:18 am

    [...] Trick to do it athttp://www.iambetterthanu.com/2007/10/09/create-an-invisible-folder/ [...]

  53. dave October 11th, 2007 at 4:27 am

    does not see to work with Vista….and i suspect a decent search still finds the jpgs or mpegs you have scoured away, no?

  54. How To Make an Invisible Folder and Hide Private Files October 11th, 2007 at 4:27 am

    [...] while some tricks require complex manipulation and heavy tweaking to your registry. Jeff from I am Better Than You has come up with a sweet and simple little trick that can help you make an invisible folder so you [...]

  55. Tenth October 11th, 2007 at 4:30 am

    TENTH!!!!!!!!!

  56. Sarc October 11th, 2007 at 4:33 am

    Not advisable for WORK, the program scanning software that corporations use will detect and catalog anything that’s in a folder like this. Do this at work and risk loosing your job.

  57. Eelpout October 11th, 2007 at 4:41 am

    Another idea: use a portable drive and encryption.

  58. below me October 11th, 2007 at 4:46 am

    or… You can name the folder anything you want and put a $ sign after the name of the folder so it doesn’t appear at all.

    pron$

  59. bane October 11th, 2007 at 5:05 am

    blimey!

    I feel like Harry Potter! Thanks, this works for me…

    and, please, a word of advice.. don’t put I am better than you as the title… it’s so un-Gandhi style…

    peace & love to you, long live and prosper

  60. Dean October 11th, 2007 at 5:15 am

    Thats not hidden at all.

    Rename the folder to something easy like abc, then go into the folders properties and change it to hidden, then go to the folder where you have hidden your folder and just change the address bar.

    So something like C:\My Documents\ then just add abc and hit enter.

  61. Andy October 11th, 2007 at 5:16 am

    Unless someone does a search for *.jpg or *.mp3 or video files. the system will search all folders , even ones which are invisible.

    Truecrypt is your friend! Creates a encrypted volume in a file which you name something innocuous. Even if someone suspects what is in the file they cant crack it. unless of course the NSA wants it or you have a keylogger attached to your machine.

    Reasonably safe if all you are trying to do is hide your pron stash from others.

  62. Ayhan October 11th, 2007 at 5:19 am

    But how can you reach that folder to put some files in it?

  63. Me October 11th, 2007 at 5:19 am

    Nifty trick, but this isn’t going to hide anything from anyone. F3 – Search – *.mpg, *.wmv, *.mov etc and all your porn’s right there for everyone to see. This is like the “Ollie North” method of hiding porn – it’s still viewable, and they’s gonna find it.

  64. zrohder October 11th, 2007 at 5:20 am

    this is old school stuff.. but then im surprised too many people doesnt know this yet…

  65. Dustin October 11th, 2007 at 5:20 am

    Or i gota funny idea why dont you open up command promt go to the area just before the folder and type in
    attrib + h foldername

    make the folder name like porn so after you hide it you can get to it by going to

    c:/Documents and Settings/yourname/Documents/porn

    and to unhide it for whatever reason just do

    attrib -h foldername

  66. bheware October 11th, 2007 at 5:22 am

    or just mark hidden in properties and thats it…

  67. Bob October 11th, 2007 at 5:24 am

    Why not just zip your files up and require a password to unzip? More secure than a blank folder.

  68. Marc October 11th, 2007 at 5:30 am

    If one were to navigate to Start>Search>File or Folders and search for various media files (*.jpg, *.avi, *.mpg, ect.), you’re secret folder and it’s contents would be revealed in less than a few minutes. Even hiding the folder by right-clicking on it and going to properties, doesn’t prevent them from being searched for. Your pr0n is not safe!

  69. Big SHO October 11th, 2007 at 5:31 am

    if u do a seach will it show up the contents of the folder

  70. bozo October 11th, 2007 at 5:53 am

    ovo je super !! ;)

  71. Steve October 11th, 2007 at 5:56 am

    This doesn’t actually hide the files. If someone does a file search for *.mpeg or something similar, they will find your pr0n.

    There are many, many better ways to hide files.

  72. Bill October 11th, 2007 at 6:11 am

    What happens if someone does a windows explorer search will it pick it up? Someone could search on jpgs and discover my stash of filth?

  73. Andy Taylor October 11th, 2007 at 6:15 am

    And for added “protection” a good idea would be to zip any “files” into a Zipped Compressed folder and then Password Protect them. There is a program on the market called Couplebox for protecting photos and videos from getting into the wrong hands. Nice tips on the Hidden Folders/Files! Thanks

  74. How to Create an "Invisible" Folder for Your, um, "Private" Files - Offtopicz October 11th, 2007 at 6:17 am

    [...] to Create an "Invisible" Folder for Your, um, "Private" Files check it out Make your computer folders invisible and never get caught again __________________ [...]

  75. Eric E October 11th, 2007 at 6:23 am

    There are a lot better ways
    You can hide it in a alternate data stream. VIA Dos and it would be COMPLETELY invisible to Windows and could only be found by taking it out of the stream the same way or by a computer forensics person with a hex reader and a lot of time.
    remember, nothing is ever hidden or secure on your computer. Formating a drive does not remove everything, or much of anything.
    FYI: Renaming File Extensions (like .jpg to .txt) also does nothing, You’re just telling windows what you want to open it with basically. If you open every JPG you own in notepad, notice how the all start with the same 4 characters.. There are programs that search the data sector for those headers and return any and all images.
    Still, thanks for sharing and its clever, hows it working out for you?

  76. Voyd October 11th, 2007 at 6:33 am

    …or just use the free version of Cryptainer (http://www.cypherix.com/cryptainerle/).

    Peace,

    Voyd

  77. Bob Dobbs October 11th, 2007 at 6:33 am

    Err…

    And the contents will show up in a search.

    Find *.jpg in C:\

    whats this? 10,000 jpgs in C:\Obfuscated? busted.
    Maybe you should try something like TrueCrypt? (www.truecrypt.org)

  78. ... October 11th, 2007 at 6:54 am

    Does the “hidden” attribute not work just as well?

  79. flatso October 11th, 2007 at 6:57 am

    Its easier just to install Truecrypt (freeware) and create a container and put all your private files and programs inside the container. Its also way more secure.

  80. frostfang October 11th, 2007 at 6:57 am

    Could also use Alt+030

  81. Name1123 October 11th, 2007 at 6:59 am

    How do you get around the search function in the start menu? If someone did a search for all picture and/or video files, wouldn’t it still bring up the contents of the folder?

  82. PBMSWT October 11th, 2007 at 7:01 am

    HOW DO YOU DELETE IT?

  83. Rick October 11th, 2007 at 7:04 am

    Well, this wouldn’t stop anyone at Geek Squad from finding your files, but it would probably stop your girlfriend. It’s better than nothing.

  84. Steven October 11th, 2007 at 7:24 am

    Invisible to newb’s perhaps, but not those that can use CMD ;)

  85. bahtiyar October 11th, 2007 at 7:37 am

    its very good tips .thanks for this article .

  86. Brandon Martinez October 11th, 2007 at 7:39 am

    If you’re on a Mac, you can also use terminal and create/rename a folder to start with a period, so: .private or something along those lines. Then you can’t see it in the finder. As long as you know where it’s at, you can access it by using the launch folder command.

  87. 1000:1010 October 11th, 2007 at 7:44 am

    useles information.

    and old and well known trick from (l)users for (l)users…

    Not secure. Not really hidden. Not encrypted.

  88. robroy911 October 11th, 2007 at 7:51 am

    You can do a similar trick in OS X and Linux. Create a folder in your home directory, place your files into that folder and then append a “.” to the front of the folder name. Gone. Its now a hidden directory. Anyone who knows how to find hidden files on a Unix platform could find it, otherwise its pretty much invisible. Name the folder like “.PersonalConfig” It will blend in with all the other config files.

  89. grumpy goat October 11th, 2007 at 8:03 am

    I suppose this would thwart someone browsing folders – but a search for *.torrent or *.avi, etc would still get you caught red-handed.

  90. Ax October 11th, 2007 at 8:11 am

    Security through ignorance.
    gnupg, anyone? Sheesh.

  91. Me October 11th, 2007 at 8:13 am

    So do this little trick then set it as hidden. Double secure

  92. Chris Brandstetter October 11th, 2007 at 8:20 am

    And in UNIX it is ALOT easier, simply put a period in front of the directory name. God I love the ease of use of UNIX. :-)

  93. IF October 11th, 2007 at 8:35 am

    If you use the windows search program and select the search for pictures option you can still find all of the pictures in the file you just cant see the fie thus you will get caught and thus the folder is not really invisible it just has a invisible icon.
    Go on try it for yourself.

  94. wen October 11th, 2007 at 8:37 am

    good to remember it, it might be very useful one day!

  95. Ivan October 11th, 2007 at 8:39 am

    Well … First thing I do on my friend’s PC was search > *.jpg, *.mpg or *.avi

    Yours is more like a temporary visual solution .. not really solve the problem. Well, at least it’s now safer from my mom :)

  96. JJ October 11th, 2007 at 8:40 am

    This sounds kinda kool but if I put some porn in the folder today and someone does a search for files modified today, the files will show up. Doesn’t matter if you cant see the folder, the files within the folder will show up in the search.

  97. wow wow October 11th, 2007 at 8:44 am

    Wow… good for “hinding” stuff… but what happends when someone search for, hum.. all pictures on the computer, on all documents? not so secret anymore…

  98. justin October 11th, 2007 at 8:55 am

    if someone were to select “show hidden files” and uses the details view it would be pretty obvious

  99. Create an Invisible Folder « General Headquarters October 11th, 2007 at 9:04 am

    [...] Create an Invisible Folder You ever have a folder on your computer that you really dont want any one to find? You can make this… [...]

  100. gemidjy October 11th, 2007 at 9:16 am

    And here is a TIP for the *nix users:

    mv folder .folder

    thanks

  101. Jason October 11th, 2007 at 9:35 am

    It’s also vulnerable to searches. Unless you zip everything up and then rename the zip file. And it might be easier to do just that without bothering to put your renamed zip file in a “secret” folder.

    Still, neat trick.

  102. Sharon October 11th, 2007 at 9:36 am

    Sorry, but this does not work in Vista :( and I was so excited!

  103. Cody October 11th, 2007 at 9:54 am

    Neat trick. Hidden folders never work for me because I always have them displayed since I frequently visit hidden system folders. I’d have never thought of picking a blank icon and a blank name.

  104. dave October 11th, 2007 at 10:09 am

    Ur dumb n00bz…neener neener neener!

  105. bubba October 11th, 2007 at 10:29 am

    Does not work to well though if you are like me and keep your folders in detail view. You end up with a blank space at the top of your list that says file folder next to it. Hummm…..

  106. daniel October 11th, 2007 at 10:45 am

    its not invisible… there are too many clues that point to the existence of the directory. I wont risk having private things in that directory. thats why you have encryption tools and hiding applications.

  107. Hide Your Computer Secret | Sweet! | Technology Blog October 11th, 2007 at 11:21 am

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  108. Windows kids are clueless October 11th, 2007 at 12:32 pm

    Wow, another useless tip for a useless OS

  109. bornbored October 11th, 2007 at 1:12 pm

    1 Have different accounts for every person using your machine.
    2. Never give away your password.
    3. Never let your desktop unlocked when you are away.
    4. Never need a socalled hidden folder.

    Anyway, nice trick ;)

  110. supernub October 11th, 2007 at 3:51 pm

    you guys are all nubs, the file just doesnt have an icon, theres nothing hidden about it. if you really want a “secure” folder use the administrator in safemode to make a password protected hidden folder. sincerely the super nub.

  111. SK October 11th, 2007 at 3:55 pm

    This is nothing new. Old trick was to use ALT 255.

  112. Raj October 12th, 2007 at 4:41 am

    Hi Good one . But if u will look ATL+0160 is giving ascii value of space. so its not showing. also its searchable . jus type in search criteria ALT+0160 u will able to find that folder.

    :)

    Thanks

  113. Bleh October 12th, 2007 at 10:26 am

    For those of you who still haven’t figured out how to delete the folder, go here ;

    http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/hide-desktop-icon-text-on-windows-vista/

    ( Read the last part of the article and replace 255 with 0160 when you’re in cmd, obviously.)

  114. Web 2.0 Announcer October 12th, 2007 at 5:46 pm

    How to Create an "Invisible" Folder for Your, um, "Private" Files…

    [...]You ever have a folder on your computer that you really dont want any one to find? You can make this folder hidden but then you have to un-hide all the folders when ever you want to find it. So how can you make a folder truly invisible? Follow the…

  115. Web 2.0 Announcer October 12th, 2007 at 5:49 pm

    Make your computer folders invisible and never get caught again…

    [...][...]…

  116. veeresh October 13th, 2007 at 12:41 am

    nice to know about hinding files tell more about computer techniques

  117. Keith October 13th, 2007 at 5:54 am

    That is not really making it invisible. It still shows up as a record under “detailed” view. You may want to change it as hidden folder, and add more feature to it… to truly make it invisible. Alternatively, choose a location which is inconspicuous.

  118. links for 2007-10-14 « Jay’s blog October 13th, 2007 at 10:19 pm

    [...] Make your computer folders invisible and never get caught again [...]

  119. tam October 14th, 2007 at 8:51 am

    i think i know the perfect idea to make it completely hidden:

    make it invisible (like the blog says)
    put it into winrar with a pass
    put it into the most unsuspicious place like system32/cache. whateva

    and there all the ideas come true

  120. Cool Websites and Tips (edition #97) | MakeUseOf.com October 15th, 2007 at 5:21 pm

    [...] To: Create an Invisible (not Hidden) Folder [iambetterthanu.com] (No Ratings Yet)  Loading [...]

  121. T October 16th, 2007 at 2:55 pm

    my computer won’t do it. when I hit rename and then press 0160, it doesn’t work. while holding down ALT and then 0160 and releasing ALT. it don’t work. is there a way to get around it.

  122. Convierte una carpeta en invisible October 18th, 2007 at 5:42 am

    [...] a Jeff Dempsey, redactor del portal “I Am Better Than You“, hemos conocido un excepcional truco para convertir nuestras carpetas en invisibles; una [...]

  123. Technogab | Technology News Podcast with a touch of Rock October 19th, 2007 at 12:15 pm

    [...] Create an Invisible Folder [...]

  124. me October 20th, 2007 at 2:10 am

    just disable search use attrib +s +h alt 2+5+5 and put it in your office program files thing as office cache

  125. Melly October 22nd, 2007 at 5:41 am

    Response to gern:
    Who would be looking for those kinds of things? Girlfriends. Duh!

    Very cute trick…to bad I don’t have anything to hide. All my shits on dvd and in the house

  126. Jeff Dempsey October 22nd, 2007 at 7:43 am

    Melly you are smart person, Nothing on my site is designed to stop your IT professional, or wreak havoc on the masses. Good fun ideas…. Harass the masses because they dont know how to copy and paste

  127. molly lewis October 23rd, 2007 at 6:27 am

    I think this sight is really rubbish because it didn’t tell me the information i needed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I am never going on the sight again it is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo silly im going to report it

  128. Jeff Dempsey October 23rd, 2007 at 6:33 am

    Molly are you reporting me to the ” I don’t like it Bureau”

  129. schoolofbussines.info » Blog Archive » How To Make an Invisible Folder and Hide Private Files October 23rd, 2007 at 6:15 pm

    [...] while some tricks require complex manipulation and heavy tweaking to your registry. Jeff from I am Better Than You has come up with a sweet and simple little trick that can help you make an invisible folder so you [...]

  130. MP October 24th, 2007 at 11:12 am

    Boooooooo…
    It does not work on WinXP SP2….

  131. Sherry, like the wine......but sweeter ;) October 25th, 2007 at 1:12 pm

    I have a mbpro, will this work on there too?

  132. Solo Windows » Blog Archive » Ocultar carpetas en Windows XP - Sácale todo el potencial a tu ordenador October 29th, 2007 at 1:05 am

    [...] sencillo que he leído últimamente para ocultar carpetas en Windows XP, publicado originalmente en iambetterthanu. De donde extraemos las imágenes. Los pasos son [...]

  133. nzsmostwanted November 15th, 2007 at 6:42 pm

    wouldn’t it be be better and easier to just get a software that makes it ‘invisible’ for you with a password? This idea would be complicated to a novice, as the latter would be quicker and easier.
    What happens if you screw up and can’t retieve that ‘invisible’ folder?

  134. Chris November 20th, 2007 at 2:34 pm

    If you’re going to go through trouble, why don’t you just create an extra partition? Just format it as ntfs, then you can unmount it and leave the data intact. Doesn’t show up if hidden folders are viewed, can’t find anything in it with a normal search…

    I do have to admint, though, I’ve never thought about hiding a folder like that. A better trick- create a folder with a ‘creative’ name on someone desktop, take a screenshot, and delete the folder again. Open paint, save screenshot, set as wallpaper. Some people will never be able to get rid of that ‘gay porn’ folder that they can’t delete from their desktop, yet everyone can see.

  135. oscarverywild December 1st, 2007 at 6:11 pm

    How to erase a uneraseable folder?

    Do this with “WinRaR program” and so real easy. (http://www.rarsoft.com – freeware)

    1- Put all of the files into a folder to save it, like mentioned in the tweak above.

    2- In the program, check the option
    “Delete files after archiving”
    and click OK.

    3- Now Right click in the folder “unnamed” and click
    in the option “add to archive” to open WinRaR
    program.

    4- Winrar will delete the .RaR file without name for you instantly :) .

  136. Jennipher December 1st, 2007 at 10:16 pm

    how do i make invisible folders not invisible anymore

  137. ICE December 5th, 2007 at 1:19 am

    OPEN WINRAR THEN DIRECT THE MENU TO THE FOLDER EX: U PUT THE INVI FOLDER ON DESKTOP THEN U SHOULD SEE IT ON WINRAR THEN RENAME IT TO NUMBER 1 THEN PRESS ENTER THEN CLOSE WINRAR THEN PRESS SHIFT+DELETE . VIOLA! JUGUG!!! SUCCESS!!

  138. just December 9th, 2007 at 8:58 pm

    GRACIAS…

  139. SyntaxC4 December 19th, 2007 at 6:54 pm

    anyone that thinks this doesn’t work in any version of windows are not computer literate. If you are using a keyboard you must type the numbers on the number pad, not the top row of a qwerty keyboard. if you are on a laptop you have to use the function key to enable number lock and use the keys that have the keypad numbers on them, normally ‘mjkluo’. i’m working on a windows vista laptop and it works. I wouldn’t use this technique even if my parents had the IQ of a blade of grass, nor would i let windows display my ‘hidden’ files/folders. there are programs out there like magic folders, that don’t show your folders even if you’re in dos. mind you then you have to hide the magic folders application, which oddly enough fits on a floppy disk with plenty of room, yeah remember floppies, those hard 3.5″ homework eating pieces of garbage.

  140. Maximus December 19th, 2007 at 11:56 pm

    I would like to see a continuation of the topic

  141. ben December 31st, 2007 at 10:29 am

    that rocks
    cwl thnz

  142. David January 5th, 2008 at 3:24 am

    Thanks oscarverywild! It worked!

  143. packer January 28th, 2008 at 8:20 am

    watta lame tip how can someone hide files when there was a blank space and a description of file folder. Instead of making it unnoticeable its more noticeable for clicking why not use:

    attrib -h -r -s “new folder”

    and hide system files its better for sure and unsearchable u can easily go to the folder by typing it on the address bar. get the idea

  144. Zeus February 15th, 2008 at 11:09 am

    Better is set ’secret’ folder to some not-often-used directory – for example C:/Program Files/Common Microsoft Offfice bla bla bla Files/data/Instal/ServicePack Files/common/…/ :-D

    Isn’t it safer? :-)

  145. Jeff Dempsey February 15th, 2008 at 3:38 pm

    Zeus, ya its really up to you how you use it. Its just a fun little trick, I dont suggest it for hiding legal documents.

  146. Tips4pc February 23rd, 2008 at 6:28 pm

    Great tip.. You really need to be ahead of the pack nowdays.. Even the kids know about hidden files and so on… I bet they don’t know this one yet..LOL

  147. mind February 25th, 2008 at 7:25 pm

    apparently i’ve ended up in the sewer of the internet. sigh

    are you actually real morons commenting, or just spambots stringing together words?

  148. Jeff Dempsey February 25th, 2008 at 7:48 pm

    @mind

    Is it the post you find stupid? or the people commenting

  149. moartea_pe_schiury March 14th, 2008 at 11:59 am

    better try a password folder software….they are free and can make folders invisible also….realy invisible….

  150. the guy above me... April 11th, 2008 at 8:56 pm

    …likes little girls underwear and slaying cambodian villagers

  151. dude April 14th, 2008 at 11:42 am

    Nothing is secure :) ) “they” can hack any password in just a few seconds :) so any software will be helpless. The best way is to … I don’t know :) )

  152. Princess257 April 16th, 2008 at 9:04 am

    gr8 gr8 gr8….just superb…awesome job….thanx a lot buddy….Jakas bhai…. ^_^

  153. tarikx April 19th, 2008 at 1:37 am

    tarikxhbhbjxjj nnnnjjnkj nxnnxhhjdhhyxgggxn jnnx mm j jchgc h hshhcttoisygts, gjg

  154. Anthony Abbott May 22nd, 2008 at 8:04 am

    Fort Myers,

  155. jocuri May 28th, 2008 at 3:32 pm

    hahahah verry funny i liked that

  156. cheege June 30th, 2008 at 6:06 pm

    come one guys…
    if its pron.. try online sites.. that stream free pron..
    if its important data.. or pics..
    keep them in your emails…
    what the f*** do you have 1-5 gbs of emails websites for…
    try….
    if not..
    put it in hidden system files..
    this folder doesnt showup even when you display hidden files… ;)

  157. Arni July 13th, 2008 at 12:15 am

    You can see the folder by refreshing desktop with F5.
    If you hold F5 you will be able to see it. :P

  158. Bandleader August 20th, 2008 at 6:37 am

    Anyone concerned with people finding hidden files such as .avi by searching, just rename with another 3 characters for the file extension

  159. Gravity August 23rd, 2008 at 11:38 am

    thnx alot. works amazing.

  160. Hydrogen August 29th, 2008 at 9:10 am

    Ff you have the files arranged in a list (inside a folder) the “invisible” folder will show up as a blank space. Also, if you arrange files as thumbnails it will show up with a gray dotted line around it.

  161. Huzaifa September 11th, 2008 at 9:16 am

    O my Gosh!!! it works!!!
    Man i saw a video but it cudn’t explain when to release the alt button… Rock ON Man!!!

  162. Ana September 17th, 2008 at 11:56 am

    There are better ways to Hide files than this one…

  163. himanshu October 11th, 2008 at 12:53 am

    its good…. but how to delete the folder??????????????

  164. chris December 12th, 2008 at 7:33 pm

    not really that impressed. what i’d like to know actualy is how to make something never show up. that has a little ‘file folder’ notification to the right so anyone can pick it up.
    an example of one that doesnt show up is “content.ie5″. its not a hidden folder. seems like its just an address… you can only get in it from typing the address in the address bar.

  165. whatever im not givin this site my name December 18th, 2008 at 4:06 pm

    just go in the folder and get rid of the .ini to delete the folder.

  166. Emiks January 2nd, 2009 at 10:11 am

    You can’t delete it in Windows Vista! :P

  167.   February 1st, 2009 at 11:31 am

    the guy under me is a HOMO

  168. madjojo February 9th, 2009 at 12:40 am

    there’s another way to hide a folder

  169. kapil February 27th, 2009 at 7:35 am

    very good work *****

  170. atentat March 8th, 2009 at 8:20 am

    i cannot make folder unnamed. why? i try with alt 0160 but i get again the name new folder.what should i do????????

  171. ann March 11th, 2009 at 9:09 am

    turn the number lock on,
    enter numbers from number keypad

  172. ann March 11th, 2009 at 9:41 am

    Press and hold “alt” then “0160?, release the alt key and then press “enter”.
    Desktops should turn the number keys on, then use the right of the keyboard and not above the letters. Laptops cannot use the regular number keys, they must use the ‘function’ numbers within the keyboard (the corresponding letters are: “m-j-o-m”= “0-1-6-0. With laptops, “numlock” must be selected. Also, you must use the “Fn” key when selecting the numbers and may also need so to turn the numlock on.]
    Select and right click the folder. Scroll down to select “properties”, then “customize”, and then “change icon”.
    If you scroll through the provided icons, you will see a certain area that seems a few icons are simply missing. Select one of those empty spaces, or in other words, invisible folders.
    Hit “OK”, then “Apply”, then “OK”.

    You now have an invisible folder on your desktop to place any files you want to make transparent. Please remember that this is not a secured file, just invisible to the eyes.

  173. naveen March 14th, 2009 at 12:45 pm

    i was made a new folder and insert some imp files. then i did invisibly….2 day later then i go to check the invisible folder, but i couldn’t get that invisible folder..but it is not locate in desktop.
    I located in 1 folder..how will i get the invisible folder ?

  174. michael March 19th, 2009 at 8:59 pm

    how can you delete it on vista??????????????

  175. michael March 19th, 2009 at 9:00 pm

    how can you delete it on vista?????????????? it will not delete…. :-(

  176. michael March 19th, 2009 at 9:23 pm

    To delete on Vista

    Download Winrar, right click folder go to “Add to archive”. There is a list of boxs in the following screen, check the one beside “Delete files after archived”. hit apply/ok, let it archive, the folder will be gone. Then, delete the Archive, Voila, Fixed.

  177. Immortal Monk April 12th, 2009 at 6:21 pm

    To Hide It like a hacker would :

    Right click on the folder and go to properties (do this with the folders contents too)
    Go to general, attributes and sellect hidden

    To find the file again:

    Go to start
    Go to control panel
    Select Classic view
    Click folder options
    Go to View, then sellect show hidden files and folders, when this is selected a user can see all hidden files and folders when but when you want to hide it again reselect it

  178. Ian April 22nd, 2009 at 11:30 am

    Allright, im doing this from mah laptop
    And it only shows the ‘General’ and not Customize
    Plus im at school while doing this.
    Thanks for the info though!
    From,
    Joe TM
    Also send me and email if you want to be in the TM gang email me at niunious@sbcglobal.net or jacob.west@comcast.net

  179. Aster May 13th, 2009 at 12:48 pm

    Uh, i dont think you want to make the folder “hidden.” that is, dont go into the folder properties and click on the checkbox next to “hidden.” i tried doing it and now every time i go into the folder that my invisible folder is in, the invisible folder automatically has a dotted border around its so-called “invisible” text. the option isnt going to do you much more good anyway since anyone who has messed with the option at all will know that you can easily enable viewing of hidden folders by going into folder options menu.
    This is great btw, now i can hide my 6gb folder from my dumbass friends without having to mess with passwords or encryption.

  180. Sam May 24th, 2009 at 10:01 pm

    Does this also work for macs?

  181. GIANT July 21st, 2009 at 4:41 pm

    man this is great now i can have privacy

  182. shane August 11th, 2009 at 7:42 am

    *wink* lol

  183. ashutosh August 14th, 2009 at 1:34 am

    great yaar tell me more tricks

  184. Eddie August 30th, 2009 at 6:18 pm

    Hi,

    I have tried to make a folder invisible using the above method, it didt work, however I didnt change the name,
    the folder also had its properties to Hidden before I made it invisible, Now I cant find the damn folder anywhere, Its not even searchable, I simply cant see it, I have tried show hidden files and even that doesnt bring the folder, Please help as I really need to recover my data.

    Thanks.

  185. rocky September 3rd, 2009 at 8:45 pm

    gre888888888888888 man

  186. Kieren September 8th, 2009 at 1:41 am

    This is a much easier way to make the file INVISIBLE
    All that Holding ALT and pressing 0160 does
    it put a space -.-
    so instead of the path going
    >Rename
    >Hold ALT
    >Press 0160
    >Release ALT
    try this way
    >Rename
    >Press SPACEBAR
    >Enter :O
    then Properties – Customize – Change Icon,
    to the gap etc etc etc

  187. ANILESH September 11th, 2009 at 5:42 am

    lenghy processsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

  188. Love Malhotra September 16th, 2009 at 11:03 pm

    Hi, this is great trick but when we select blank icon and hit ok then the black square is show. so what we do

  189. randomguy October 2nd, 2009 at 7:53 am

    Kieren fail

  190. Binod October 29th, 2009 at 3:13 am

    Well that was great though, can we come with some new tricks guys…

  191. kundan November 3rd, 2009 at 9:39 pm

    grt bro…..

  192. dinesh November 4th, 2009 at 10:29 pm

    (FILE encryption) well ,there is another way to make the file not accessible by others.just follow the steps
    1.select the file u want 2 encrypt
    2.press F2 (if u find .extension skip step 3)
    3.goto tools->folder options->view->UNCHECK Hide extensions for known file types and press OK.
    4.now rename the extension of ur file with .NFO
    5.goto folder options->view and CHECK the Hide extension box again.
    6.u will see ur file shows only the system info.

    NOTE:
    1.make sure u DON’T use openwith option in ur right click to view ur file.
    2.to view ur file do it vice versa.

  193. How to Create an Invisible Folder? | how to arena November 23rd, 2009 at 3:06 pm

    [...] http://www.iambetterthanu.com/2007/10/09/create-an-invisible-folder/ [...]

  194. Aniket Bhattacharya December 26th, 2009 at 2:54 pm

    This trick works only when you have a keyboard with the numpad.Wont work in laptops! :( Is there any way in which you can make it work without using the numpad??

  195. Sarfraz December 26th, 2009 at 4:44 pm

    I tried it but it is not working at my side. I am using window xp 2005.
    what should I do??

  196. james December 26th, 2009 at 10:58 pm

    or you can enable the flux capacitor to reroute data appearing in the common folder (just google it). basically the encryption codes require a higher level clearance than the mainframe does, rendering your files completely invisible.

  197. Making An Invisible Desktop Folder - Raymond.CC Forum January 10th, 2010 at 6:08 pm

    [...] Hit OK. You now have An invisible but just remember where you put it because you can't see it. Source Cheers. [...]


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