Hidden and Super Hidden

[Jack Carlson]

Can some identify which files/folders are considered "super hidden"? So
far, I've been able to identify on the Recycler and System Volume
Information folders only.

Thanks.

 

[Gary Smith]

Can some identify which files/folders are considered "super hidden"? So
far, I've been able to identify on the Recycler and System Volume
Information folders only.

Open a command prompt windows and type

dir \ /b /s /a:s

Redirect the output to a file if you want to see them all. There are 227
such folders and files on my system at the moment.

 

[Jack Carlson]

Open a command prompt windows and type

dir \ /b /s /a:s

Redirect the output to a file if you want to see them all. There are 227
such folders and files on my system at the moment.

Thanks for the reply, Gary. What I've observed just now on my home
system is that enabling "super hidden" removes the following dirs from
an explorer window:

Cmdcons
Recycler
System Volume Information
%systemroot%\CSC
%systemroot%\Installer
%systemroot%\system32\dllcache

As far as I can tell, "hidden" is most likely defined as those
files/dirs marked with an -h attribute. "Super hidden," on the other
hand, doesn't appear to be to be so simple. For example, all the
following have an -s attribute set:

NTUSER.DAT -s visible
ntuser.ini -h-s hidden
Nethood -s visible
Cookies -s visible

and yet some are visible while others aren't. Create a file or dir and
give it an -s attribute and it will as visible as any other file. So,
no, the "super hidden" criteria cannot be equated with something so
simple as a attribute that can in almost all cases be easily reset by a
user. It's possible that the "super hidden" also is related to SYSTEM
permissions, but in any cas, grepping files and comparing the results to
what is or isn't visible in an explorer window sounds is hardly
productive.

Isn't the "super hidden" criteria published somewhere?

Thanks.

 

[Colon Terminus]

Thanks for the reply, Gary. What I've observed just now on my home
system is that enabling "super hidden" removes the following dirs from
an explorer window:

Cmdcons
Recycler
System Volume Information
%systemroot%\CSC
%systemroot%\Installer
%systemroot%\system32\dllcache

As far as I can tell, "hidden" is most likely defined as those
files/dirs marked with an -h attribute. "Super hidden," on the other
hand, doesn't appear to be to be so simple. For example, all the
following have an -s attribute set:

NTUSER.DAT -s visible
ntuser.ini -h-s hidden
Nethood -s visible
Cookies -s visible

and yet some are visible while others aren't. Create a file or dir and
give it an -s attribute and it will as visible as any other file. So,
no, the "super hidden" criteria cannot be equated with something so
simple as a attribute that can in almost all cases be easily reset by a
user. It's possible that the "super hidden" also is related to SYSTEM
permissions, but in any cas, grepping files and comparing the results to
what is or isn't visible in an explorer window sounds is hardly
productive.

Isn't the "super hidden" criteria published somewhere?

Thanks.

It has all permissions but 'copy' denied to
everyone, including administrators. This set
of permissions makes the file completely
invisible inside windows. You cannot see it
using File explorer or DOS prompts like dir.
It also can not have its attributes set so
that you can see it."

 

[William W. Plummer]

It has all permissions but 'copy' denied to
everyone, including administrators. This set
of permissions makes the file completely
invisible inside windows. You cannot see it
using File explorer or DOS prompts like dir.
It also can not have its attributes set so
that you can see it."

The "S" attribute is for "System" files. It's not new and goes all the
way back to early DOS and maybe even CPM.

 

[Gary Smith]

Thanks for the reply, Gary. What I've observed just now on my home
system is that enabling "super hidden" removes the following dirs from
an explorer window:

Cmdcons
Recycler
System Volume Information
%systemroot%\CSC
%systemroot%\Installer
%systemroot%\system32\dllcache

I thought I knew what you meant, but now I don't think so any longer. I
don't know what "enabling 'super hidden'" means. If I uncheck "Hide
protected operating system files" in Folder Options > View (my normal
operating state), all of those files are visible on my system. If I
check the option, they're all invisible.

As far as I can tell, "hidden" is most likely defined as those
files/dirs marked with an -h attribute. "Super hidden," on the other
hand, doesn't appear to be to be so simple. For example, all the
following have an -s attribute set:

NTUSER.DAT -s visible
ntuser.ini -h-s hidden
Nethood -s visible
Cookies -s visible

With "Hide protected operating system files" unchecked, all of those are
visible on my system. NTUSER.DAT does not have the "s" attribute.
ntuser.inin is no more hidden than any other file.

So what does "super hidden" actually mean? I haven't found any file on my
system which merits that description -- but then, if it's super hidden,
how would I find it?

Note -- System Volume Information normally has access denied to everyone
but the system itself, but that doesn't make it invisible. Any
administrator can take ownership and make the folder accessible, although
there's not much point in doing so.