WinHEX 15.6 is a Text Editor product from x-ways.net, get 5 Stars SoftSea Rating, WinHex is in its core a universal hexadecimal editor, particularly helpful in the realm of computer forensics, data recovery, low-level data processing, and IT security. An advanced tool for everyday and emergency use: inspect and edit all kinds of files, recover deleted files or lost data from hard drives with corrupt file systems or from digital camera cards.
WinHex is a universal hexadecimal editor, particularly helpful in the realm of computer forensics, data recovery, low-level data processing, and IT security. An advanced tool for everyday and emergency use: inspect and edit all kinds of files, recover deleted files or lost data from hard drives with corrupt file systems or from digital camera cards.

Features include:
Disk editor for hard disks, floppy disks, CD-ROM & DVD, ZIP, Smart Media, Compact Flash, ...
Native support for FAT, NTFS, Ext2/3, ReiserFS, Reiser4, UFS, CDFS, UDF
Built-in interpretation of RAID systems and dynamic disks
Various data recovery techniques
RAM editor, providing access to physical RAM and other processes' virtual memory
Data interpreter, knowing 20 data types
Editing data structures using templates (e.g. to repair partition table/boot sector)
Concatenating and splitting files, unifying and dividing odd and even bytes/words
Analyzing and comparing files
Particularly flexible search and replace functions
Disk cloning (under DOS with X-Ways Replica)
Drive images & backups (optionally compressed or split into 650 MB archives)
Programming interface (API) and scripting
256-bit AES encryption, checksums, CRC32, hashes (MD5, SHA-1, ...)
Erase (wipe) confidential files securely, hard drive cleansing to protect your privacy
Import all clipboard formats, incl. ASCII hex values
Convert between binary, hex ASCII, Intel Hex, and Motorola's
Character sets: ANSI ASCII, IBM ASCII, EBCDIC, (Unicode)
Instant window switching. Printing. Random-number generator.
Supports files >4 GB. Very fast. Easy to use. Extensive online help.

WinHex: Features and Ways of Application:
Drive cloning, drive imaging
to produce exact duplicates of disks/drives, e.g. to save the time for a full installation of the operating system and other program for several computers/disks of the same type, or to be able to restore a running installation in case of data loss/screwed up Windows (restoration of a backup). Also for computer forensics specialists, since they need to work on a copy when searching for evidence on the object disk. You can clone directly, or from an image file. Menu: Tools | Disk Tools | Clone Disk

RAM editor
e.g. for debugging purposes (programming), for examining/manipulating any running software and in particular computer games (cheating). Tools | RAM Editor

Analyzing files
e.g. to determine the type of data recovered as lost cluster chains by ScanDisk or chkdsk. Examples. Tools | Analyze File

Wiping confidential files or disks
...so no one (not even computer forensics specialists) will be able to retrieve them. To securely erase a file, use File Manager | Delete Irreversibly. For disk wiping, open the disk with the disk editor and use Edit | Fill Disk Sectors. E.g. fill with zero bytes (hexadecimal value 00) or random bytes. WinHex works in accordance with the standard outlined in DoD 5220.22-M (for details, please see this white paper).

Wiping unused space and slack space
either to close security leaks, to securely destroy previously existing classified files that have been deleted in the traditional way only, or to minimize the size of your disk backups (like WinHex backups or Norton Ghost backups), since initialized space can be compressed 99%. On NTFS drives, WinHex will even offer to wipe all currently unused $Mft (Master File Table) file records, as they may still contain names and fragments of files previously stored in them. File slack can be found in the unused end of the last cluster allocated to a file, which usually contains traces of previously existing files. Slack space - like everything else - is processed by WinHex very fast. Also see X-Ways Security.

ASCII - EBCDIC conversion
Allows to exchange text between mainframe computers and the PC in both directions. You may even tailor the character translation table in WinHex (ebcdic.dat) for your own needs. Edit | Convert

Binary, Hex ASCII, Intel Hex, and Motorola's conversion

Unifying and dividing odd and even bytes/words

Conveniently editing data structure
using custom templates. Download a tutorial. View | Template Manager

Splitting files that do not fit on a disk
File Manager | Split/Concatenate
WinHex as a reconnaissance and learning tool
Are you sure Microsoft Word really discards previous states of your document? You may be surprised to find text deleted long ago in your .doc files. Maybe text that you really do not wish to be seen by the person you are going to pass the .doc file to? Discover what various program programs save in their files. Study unknown file formats and learn how they work. Investigate e.g. how executable files are structured and how they are loaded in RAM. The possibilities are practically unlimited. Here is another important one:

Finding interesting values (e.g. the number of lives, ammunition, etc.) in saved game files
using the Combined Search or using the File Comparison utility, for later manipulation

Manipulating saved game files
for any computer game, following existing instructions from cheat sites on the Internet or for developing your own cheats.
Upgrading MP3 jukeboxes and Microsoft Xbox with larger hard drive
To upgrade, the new hard disk must be prepared first. This is where you need WinHex. Instructions for Creative's Nomad MP3 jukebox, DAP jukebox and Microsoft Xbox. You can also change the name of your Xbox.
Manipulating text
that one is not supposed to edit, e.g. in binary files. It is not handy, but possible to translate practically any program into another language by editing text in the executable files, e.g. if the source code is not available (e.g. lost). Or you would like to edit text in files of a certain binary type that the native software does not let you modify. For instance, programmers may find their compiler automatically creates a configuration file for their project whose filename (application name + .cfg) conflicts with a file their own program uses. If your local laws and the license permit that, edit the compiler's executable file such that it works without problems (e.g. with the filename extension ".cnf").

Viewing and manipulating files that usually cannot be edited
because they are protected by Windows (e.g. the swap file, temporary files of the Internet Explorer), using the disk editor. Tools | Disk Editor

Viewing, editing, and repairing system areas
such as the Master Boot Record with its partition table and boot sectors. Tools | Disk Editor | Access button

Hiding data or discovering hidden data
...e.g. behind the supposed end of .jpg files (steganography), or in unused parts of logical drives or physical disks. WinHex specifically supports access to surplus sectors that are not in use by the operating system because they do not add to an entire cluster or cylinder.

Copy & Paste
Use copy & paste or copy & write (=overwrite) with files, disks, and RAM. You may freely copy from a disk and write the clipboard contents to a disk, without regard to sector boundaries!

Unlimited Undo
When editing, reverse any of your steps. Only restricted by available disk space. Edit | Undo The license of this file & disk software is Free Trial Software, the price is $57.00, you can free download and get a free trial before you buy. If you want to get a full or nolimited version of WinHEX, you can buy this text editor software.