Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncr-sd!hp-sdd!ucsdhub!sdcsvax!ucsd!rutgers!iuvax!bsu-cs!pervect
From: pervect@bsu-cs.UUCP (Barrett Kreiner)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Protecting directories from peeping eyes (how???)
Summary: backspace.. OH YES!
Message-ID: <5053@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Date: 10 Dec 88 17:03:27 GMT
References: <46@VAX1.CC.UAKRON.EDU> <838@novavax.UUCP> <48@VAX1.CC.UAKRON.EDU> <190@nbires.nbi.com>
Distribution: na
Organization: CS Dept, Ball St U, Muncie, Indiana
Lines: 40

In article <190@nbires.nbi.com>, matt@nbires.nbi.com (Matthew Meighan) writes:
[Munch Munch] 
> Another approach I have used, also not fool proof, is to put illegal
> characters in the directory name -- spaces are good; I can't remember
> if you can get backspaces in there or not.   But somehow I got some
> invisible characters into directory names once (it's been a while) --
> you might try ascii 255  (decimal), which prints as a space on the
> screen, as a trailing character in the directory name, and you might
> try some regular spaces, too.  You can easily insert these characters
> into the name if you edit the directory directly with NU or debug or
> some such.
> 
> This won't really give you what you want, either, but it would slow
> someone down a bit...
> 
> -- 
> ---------
> Matt Meighan            "The eighties are the fifties in color."  - Cowtown  
> matt@nbires.nbi.com (nbires\!matt)

Oh! yes, you can do Wonderful things with directory names.  A favorite trick
is to create a directory, hide it, put a Delete as the first character
(ascii 127 or hex 7f) then place a hidden batch file that has the 'CD' within 
the directory.  Finally, adding the directory to the search path and there 
you have it: a simple password'd directory.  No flames about how NCD and 
XTREE can change this, my end users have problems inserting the disk in the
proper way.  A realated note: once you "Hide" a directory, it becomes 
invisible to "TREE", a useful feature.  I have also found that playing with
the R/O, System and Hidden bit's in different combinations will confuse some
(not many) NCD *type* programs (I've had a couple say it became a 'file').

Looking forward to Finals next week :-[
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|-----|
| Barrett Kreiner    UUCP:  <backbones>!{iuvax,pur-ee}!bsu-cs!pervect | :-] |
| Technical Manager, Fine Arts Computer Lab|--------------------------|-----|
| Ball State University. Muncie, Indiana   |This space left blank on purpose|
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| How am I computing?  Let my parents know at ddsw1!kreiner  (HI ma & dad)  |
| Disclamer: "I don't know them!  I'm a student, nobody listens to ME!"     |
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