In the end, all of this is superfluous next to the vast advantages, but sometimes we still dream about torrent files – or the rest of the internet – being more flexible.

If you’re looking for added flexibility, or simply secrecy for your torrents, do read on.

hid.im

With hid.im, you can encode your torrents to an image file – this allows you to hide torrent files inside pictures beyond recognition. Simply surf to the website, upload your torrent file and wait for your png. You can save the image to your harddisk, or temporarily reach them on the website.

The png file will look like a rectangle of electronic noise, as you can see below (ubuntu-9.04-desktop-amd64.iso.torrent).

So what’s the use of this technology? Besides being able to  ‘hide’ your torrent files inside pictures, which will be increasingly difficult once this technology gets more well known, TorrentFreak puts it on ease of use.

That’s right, with your torrent file in picture format, you can simply upload it to otherwise restricted forums, mail them to your friends, or embed them in a MakeUseOf article. Exactly how many people will need it remains the question, but it’s a beautiful concept, and I can imagine a multitude of situations in which it’d be useful.

Decoding your Torrents

Obviously, you can’t just open the png files in your local torrent client, they’ll need to be decoded first. There are two ways to do this.

The easiest, perhaps, is by using the bookmarklet which you can find on the webpage. For those of you that don’t know, a bookmarklet is a bookmark that executes a small piece of JavaScript in your browser. Once you activate your bookmarklet, you can simply click on the image for a download link to appear, as demonstrated in the screenshot below.

The bookmarklet works on Safari, Firefox, but not yet on Chrome. Internet Explorer is not specified, but you could give it a shot.

An alternative – for Firefox users, that is – to the bookmarklet is the hid.im add-on. With this one installed, you can simply right-click on your torrent pictures, and save them to your computer. Less work, but only if you’re using Firefox.

Have a Go

Below we’ve included a sample coded torrent. The torrent file in question is, of course, 100% legal. Its identity, however, remains unknown. Install the Firefox add-on or bookmarklet, and see if you can decode the torrent.

Do you think you know which torrent it is? Tip: its got to do with a popular MakeUseOf subject.

What do you think about hid.im? Advancement of the century, or useless technology? Let us know what you think – or how you plan to use it – in the comments section below. Share your ideas with us, and your fellow MakeUseOf readers!

There are plenty more cool torrent articles. Read how to download torrents with your console and mobile, or how to download them on a Windows computer without using a client. Check out other torrent related articles – I bet there’s plenty of stuff you haven’t heard about!

For those who don’t like the grease on the cuff, here is a roundup of 7 freeware applications to protect and hide folders and files, taking them away from common reach.

1. dirLock (v1.4)

A small and simple program that locks-unlocks directories/folders/files on a NTFS volume. Using the hide option, the folder can be made invisible (enable the “˜Do Not Show Hidden Files’ option in the Folder Options-View settings).

An uncomplicated software, it also adds a Lock/Unlock entry for quick access in the right click context menu.

The 266KB software is available for Windows 2000,XP, 2003 Server from here.

2. MyLockBox (v1.2)

For simplicity ““ yes. For encryption ““ no. The application allows you to assign a password to a single LockBox folder. If you want to handle multiple files or folders, you have to pull everything into a master folder and lock it. The locked folder disappears from view and cannot be accessed by anyone without the password. The folder according to the developer’s website is also not accessible remotely, through DOS or the safe mode.

But do remember that it does not encrypt the contents of the hidden folder. The software comes with a skinnable interface. The 1.2MB software is available for Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista from here.

3. Sofonesia Folder Protector (v1.1)

A lightweight software at 477KB, Sofonesia Folder Protector requires .Net Framework to function. Beyond that, hiding the folders is a cinch. Just add multiple files to the protected folder’s list and click. The software also does not encrypt the contents, it only hides the folder. Folder Protector also works in the Safe Mode. Password protection also has a failsafe in a “˜Forget password’ hint question.

Un-installation requires the password and a dialogue reminds the user to unlock all hidden files.The software is available for Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista from here.

4. Cryptainer LE (v7.3.2.0)

Cryptainer does exactly as it advertises. The 3MB freeware creates encrypted vaults (plainspeak for an encrypted disk volume) which can be used to store any files in any media including USB drives. Multiple disks volumes can thus be created. The user can hide any file within the strong 128 bit encrypted password protected vault. Secure emails can also be sent using the encryption algorithm. Drag and drop any file into the “˜vault’ and it gets encrypted. The Cryptainer “˜vault’ is invisible so it effectively cloaks any file within it.

The free version of Cryptainer though only allows for 25MB of “˜vault’ space per disk volume. So if you are looking to hide larger files, this isn’t the answer.The free version is available for Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista from here.

5. CryptArchiver Lite (v3.1)

Cryptainer is a near twin to Cryptainer. It has a similar intuitive interface and follows the same process of secured protection. It similarly creates encrypted drives which can only be accessed by a password. When the drive is unloaded, it disappears from Windows and can only be accessed with the password. Similar to the aforementioned software, self decrypting files can also be sent to others through email.

The free version has a secured drive size limitation of 20MB and a bothersome nag screen which appears after 15 days.The 1.6MB software is available for Windows 2000,XP,2003 Server from here.

6. SuperStorm (v1.52)

Superstorm does it differently. The software enables a user to hide his secret files in any media such as pictures, audio, video, executable programs and many other file types. The secret file gets merged into the media file, but the media file continues to function like before.

SuperStorm can also be easily run from a USB Drive as it is a self extracting application. The only limitation that the freeware version of SuperStorm has is that it can only handle file sizes of up to 1MB for encryption. Also, the freeware version lacks a password protection feature for the hidden file.The 623KB software is available for Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista from here.

TrueCrypt (v6.1a)

If you think that freeware and industrial strength file security can never meet, the open source TrueCrypt could prove you wrong. TrueCrypt not only encrypts data (using 256-bit AES and 448-bit Blowfish algorithms) but also cloaks the files in hidden volumes. TrueCrypt functions by creating a virtual encrypted disk which appears as a real disk volume. Files can be encrypted on the fly when moved into this volume and decrypted when moved out.

This virtual TrueCrypt volume can be kept hidden thus making the files invisible. TrueCrypt can also encrypt an entire drive, partition or even an external storage device like a USB drive. As further evidence of its capabilities, TrueCrypt can also encrypt the Windows boot partition or the entire boot drive. Furthermore it has the ability to create and run a hidden encrypted operating system. With these advanced features, TrueCrypt has become a power user’s favorite tool.

And if all this sounds too arcane, don’t worry”¦TrueCrypt provides a wizard based setup for the inexperienced user.TrueCrypt is available for Windows Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux from here.

You may also want to read Mark’s earlier review on Truecrypt as well as his how-to on how to encrypt your USB stick with Truecrypt.

An Important Footnote:

• The software have been tried out on WinXp. Full functionality on Vista is not assumed.
• As a precaution initially try out the software’ on dummy files and folders to check for inconsistencies.
• Remember to remember the passwords.

Let us know your favorite way of hiding files and folders in the comments.

Magicians often use this method to distract their audiences away from what is really happening — it’s called misdirection. This is mainly to get someone to focus their attention on something, while you’re performing something totally different.

I’m going to reveal a method to disguise your “sensitive” or “secret” messages within plain photos. Watch closely.

The method is called steganography. It is the science of writing hidden messages in a way that only the sender and recipient will know that there even is a hidden message. Now, if I didn’t tell you that there was a message within the photo above, would you have even known? Tina also discussed steganography back in June for Windows computers and her article is also definately worth reading.

The application featured here today is iSteg. As the name goes, it uses steganography to conceal messages within photos. Think of it as “invisible ink”, if you will.

Using iSteg is pretty easy. You simply enter a pass-phrase, select the picture file as the disguise, select the text file you wish to conceal within it; and click on ‘Process’. The only criteria which must be fulfilled in order for iSteg to work is:

• Both the sender and recipient must have iSteg on their computers
• The text file must be plain text

Everything else is set for you automatically by default.

The output photo is aptly named ‘output.jpg’. Renaming it won’t ruin the encryption so go ahead and rename it whatever you like. In order to extract the hidden message, the recipient will need to re-enter the same pass-phrase used before and select the photo with the secretly hidden message. The only change here is to uncheck the ‘Encode’ box. Then hit ‘Process’ and the message will be revealed.

Now you are able to send anything and no one will even have a clue. Just bear in mind that this method is more about the fun of sending secret messages. Don’t rely on it to encode your sensitive personal information into your photos and never expect anyone to find out.

iSteg only works on Mac OS X and is available from hanynet.com. The source code is also available from the website.

Can anyone tell me what was hidden in the photo above?

(By) Jackson Chung is a full-time medical student attempting to perform a juggling act with relationships, studies and his future.

It’s easy to understand why one would like to not only encrypt but also hide a message. Using encryption alone is suspicious, whether or not the message is of any interest or meaning. Once discovered, the message is in danger of being cracked by curious individuals or used against you in heated discussions. Thus, if you want to hide your secret passion to write trashy short stories from your significant other, don’t encrypt but hide the text in your notorious country music collection…for example. But seriously, steganography can prove very useful to safely store sensible information. Think of passwords, the birthdates of ex girlfriends, the phone number of George Clooney, your secret plans to take over world leadership or you name it. Earlier we did a quick post on how to hide your folders and files in Windows but the tool I am about to show you is more secure and harder to break.

The tool I will show you in detail is S-Tools. My little tutorial is going to be extremely short, since the program is so straight-forward and simple to use. S-Tools was originally written for Windows 95 by a guy called Andy Brown. It does run on Windows XP, but it looks like it’s slowly disappearing from the face of the internet, the available download sources appear somewhat obscure and the developer’s homepage is long gone. However, the source linked to above is safe.

With S-Tools you can hide information in BMP, GIF, or WAV files, and the resulting file will be BMP, GIF, or WAV, respectively. You can hide any file type and even multiple files, but to hide larger files also the host file needs to be of sufficient size. Note that the size a host file can hold is indicated in the bottom right corner of the program window.

So how does it work? Just drag the host file to be into the S-Tools window. Next drag the file you want to hide onto the host file, provide a passphrase, choose from the encryption algorithms IDEA, DES, Triple DES or MDC, hit OK, wait for the calculations to complete, then save the resulting file (right click and select Save or Save as…) , and you’re done. To extract hidden files, simply drag the respective host file into S-Tools, right click, select reveal, type in the passphrase, select the encryption algorithm, hit ok and voilà, a small archive revealing all hidden files will appear from where you can save the files.

Go ahead and try to crack this sound file or this image. What’s the hidden word? Need help? Highlight this text >>> MUO <<< for the passphrase and this text >>> IDEA <<< for the encryption algorithm.

Do you find this application useful? Do you know of other steganography tools? I’m looking forward to learning your opinion in the comments!

(By) This post was written by one of our regular authors, Tina from Recommended.