These days companies are given more power to monitor emails and to examine your personal files. And with more and more malicious 'spy' software being widely used, you need to be sure that files containing sensitive information are kept safe from prying eyes. Electronic privacy is no longer guaranteed - who knows who might be intercepting your emails or scanning your hard drive without your knowledge or consent?
Camouflage allows you to hide files by scrambling them and then attaching them to the file of your choice. This camouflaged file then looks and behaves like a normal file, and can be stored or emailed without attracting attention.
For example, you could create a picture file that looks and behaves exactly like any other picture file but contains hidden encrypted files, or you could hide a file inside a Word document that would not attract attention if discovered. Such files can later be safely extracted.
For additional security you can password your camouflaged file. This password will be required when extracting the files within.
You can even camouflage files within camouflaged files.
Camouflaging Files
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After installing Camouflage you will find two new menu options when right-clicking files in Windows Explorer; 'Camouflage' and 'Uncamouflage'.
You can camouflage a file or several files at a time by highlighting them in Windows Explorer, then clicking the right mouse button and choosing 'Camouflage' from the pop-up menu.
A list of the files chosen is displayed in the Camouflage dialog.
You can view/edit the files by double-clicking them with the mouse, or by highlighting and right-clicking them, then choosing 'Open' from the pop-up menu. Selecting 'Properties' from this menu will display an information page similar to that in Windows Explorer.
Anyway, to continue click 'Next'.
In the second screen choose a file to be used as camouflage. This can be any type of file, but some files work better than others. For example, avoid choosing a text file because Notepad would display the entire contents of it, including the scrambled files attached. Most other files work well.
Camouflage remembers the last 10 files used and you can reuse one of them by selecting it from the drop-down list.
Note that Camouflage will simply use a copy of the selected file. The original chosen file will not be altered in any way.
Once you have selected a file, click 'Next'.
From the third screen choose the folder and filename of the camouflaged file that will be created. The default folder is the folder where you selected the files in Windows Explorer, and the default filename is the name of the file you selected for use as camouflage in the previous screen.
Click 'Next'.
From the final screen you can type in a password if you wish. This password will be required when extracting files from your camouflaged file. If you do not wish to add a password just click 'Finish'.
Clicking 'Finish' will create the camouflaged file and then exit.
Uncamouflaging Files
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To extract the files hidden within a camouflaged file, right-click it in Windows Explorer and choose 'Uncamouflage' from the pop-up menu.
A password prompt appears in the Uncamouflage dialog. If this file was created with a password, type it in.
Note that Camouflage was designed so that it doesn't reveal camouflaged files to the casual observer. For this reason the password screen is always displayed whether the file is a camouflaged file or not, or whether or not it contains a password.
Once you have entered the correct password (if applicable), click 'Next'.
The second screen displays a list of the files hidden within the camouflaged file. The first file in the list is the file originally used as camouflage.
To extract all files from the camouflaged file, either select them all, or just click 'Next' without selecting any files. You can extract certain files by selecting them, then clicking 'Next'. Note that you can deselect files by holding down CTRL and left-clicking them with the mouse.
You can view the files by double-clicking them with the mouse, or by highlighting and right-clicking them, then choosing 'Open' from the pop-up menu. Note that files modified in this way will not be changed in the archive. You can display further information about the files by choosing 'Properties' from this menu.
From the final screen, choose the folder where the files are to be extracted. If you're not extracting the first file in the list (the file originally used as camouflage), the default folder will be the folder where you right-clicked on the camouflaged file in Windows Explorer.
Click 'Finish' to extract the files and exit.
Configuring Camouflage Settings
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You can modify Camouflage settings by running Camouflage from the Windows Start Menu shortcut, or by opening the folder where you installed Camouflage and double-clicking Camouflage.exe from Windows Explorer.
The Camouflage Settings screen will appear. The version number is displayed in the title bar.
You can add or remove columns in the file selection screens (Size, Creation Date/Time, Modified Date/Time, Accessed Date, File Attributes) by checking or unchecking items in the 'Show File Details' area.
You can switch the pop-up help messages on or off by checking or unchecking 'Tool Tips'.
You can hide Camouflage from Windows Explorer by unchecking 'Show Camouflage menu options when right-clicking on files in Windows Explorer'.
When checked, Camouflage is enabled and you can right-click on files in Windows Explorer to use the Camouflage options.
When unchecked, Camouflage is disabled and the menu options do not appear when right-clicking on files in Windows Explorer.
Or you can disguise Camouflage in Windows Explorer by changing the 'Camouflage' or 'Uncamouflage' pop-up menu captions to whatever you want. When changed, the Camouflage icons do not appear.
To return the prompts and icons to normal, you can delete the text in the 'Camouflage' or 'Uncamouflage' fields.
You can also display this Readme.txt file from Camouflage by clicking the 'View Readme File' button.
Technical Support and Feedback
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This product is completely free, we ask only that you show your support by visiting our web site at http://www.camouflage.freeserve.co.uk where you can freely download the latest version. And if you like music please visit http://www.twistedpear.freeserve.co.uk
When using Camouflage you can click on the link 'Click here to get the latest version' to automatically go to the Camouflage web site. The current version you are using is displayed when you move the mouse pointer over this link.
Feedback is always encouraged. Please email bug-reports, comments, ideas or criticism to feedback@camouflage.freeserve.co.uk. Please include the version number of your copy and where you found it.
If you find any bugs with Camouflage, please email as much information as possible. Make sure you mention exactly what you were doing when the error occurred. When the bug has been fixed we can let you know via email. If you are experiencing problems with Camouflage, we suggest you first upgrade to the latest version, and email us if the problem persists.
History
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Camouflage v1.1.2
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* Added support for additional regional standards, e.g. Brazilian
* Updated runtime files in installation.
* Cleaned up the user prompt when overwriting files.
- We would like to thank Humberto Santos for his help with this version. With his patience, dedication and hard work we've managed to combat obstacles that seemed to defy all logic. This is what Freeware is all about.
Camouflage v1.1.1
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* Added option to open files when displaying them (double-click or right-click for menu).
* Added 'Properties' page for files (right-click for menu).
* Added file sizes, dates/times and attributes when displaying files.
* Added feature to change Windows Explorer pop-up menu captions.
* Added file icons in selection screens.
* Camouflage is now resizable. Settings and file selection column widths are saved.
* Added user prompts when overwriting files.
* Added prompt to create folder when extracting files.
* Camouflage version appears briefly in the title bar.
* Added 'email us' link in Settings.
* Added Tool Tips (can be switched off in Settings).
Camouflage v1.0.4
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* First release.
Copyright ⌐ 2000-2001 by Twisted Pear Productions, all rights reserved worldwide.
