* Welcome to MFI "Makes Files Invisible" Version 1.1 1/25/96 MFI keeps your private files private by making them invisible to unauthorized users. To those without your password your invisible files might as well not exist. They don't show up in directory listing and programs, applications, utilities, file managers, DOS and Windows can't find, view, delete, modify, use, or work on them. For all practical purposes your invisible files simply don't exist. But enter your password and instantly all your invisible files become visible and accessible. You don't have to un-hide each individual file when you want to access it because MFI takes care of everything automatically and transparently. It's so simple! Those with your password have instant, complete and normal access to all your invisible files, those without won't even know they're there. If you share your computer with others then you need MFI. Use it to protect those files you don't want others to corrupt, view, delete, use or modify. MFI will works in DOS, Windows 3.1, and Windows 95. It will not hide your files in OS/2, 32 bit file access in Windows for Workgroups or Windows NT. It is not for use on shared LAN drives. * IMPORTANT MFI (tm) is copyrighted 1995 by RSE Incorporated. Parts of the program are proprietary. Do not use the software unless you agree NOT to unassemble, disassemble, reverse engineer or use any other means to examine or modify the code of any of its files including INSTALL.EXE, HUTIL.BIN, and MFI.BIN. RSE Inc. specifically disclaims all warranties pertaining to this software. The software is released "as is". * How much? MFI is shareware. You're freely given this copy in order to evaluate it. If after a 30 day evaluation period you decide to continue using MFI then you must become a registered user by sending the registration fee of $29 plus $1 shipping ($5 overseas) to: MFI Registration Mastercard or Visa customers: 1157 57th Drive SE (206) 939-4105 Auburn, WA 98092 E-mail: rse@aol.com Make check in US funds drawn on a US or Canadian bank payable to RSE. You're encouraged to freely distribute copies of MFI.ZIP as long as you don't modify the files in any way. DO NOT distribute the individual, extracted, files; only MFI.ZIP. As a registered user you'll receive these additional benefits: 1. No more annoying messages (and delays) asking you to register. 2. The latest version of MFI. 3. Free updates for 6 months! (If you download them) 4. The latest full function evaluation versions of our other shareware including our popular "Sassi" and "Remind Me!" programs. 5. Technical support 6. A sincere "Thank you" for supporting our efforts to develop quality software and offer it at reasonable prices. Those using MFI in a commercial, educational, or governmental environment must register. Site licenses are available, as well as quantity discounts. If for some reason you decide not to register MFI please send us e-mail and let us know why. We're always trying to improve our products. * Installation If you haven't already installed MFI you need to do so now. Run "INSTALL.EXE" from within Windows. * Disk compression software If you have disk compression software like Stacker or DoubleDisk make sure that the line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file that runs MFI (or whatever you renamed it during installation) occurs AFTER the line that loads your disk compression program. * Making MFI tougher to defeat MFI does a great job of keeping your files invisible if it's loaded and running. If no one knows MFI is running then they won't have any reason to try to defeat it. To the non-authorized user, MFI is totally transparent. If we broadcast the fact MFI is protecting your files then a nosey user could disable it by removing the line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file that runs MFI. There are things you can do to make MFI very difficult to defeat. During installation MFI.EXE is renamed to the new name you give it. You can make multiple copies of this renamed file, giving each copy a different name, putting them in different directories, and running each of the different copies from within your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Someone would then have to remove all references to the renamed MFI.EXE files in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file before MFI would be defeated. Don't worry about loading MFI multiple times as it only loads itself once regardless of how many times it is run. If you are using Windows 95 you can also modify the SYSTEM.INI file to run MFI in case the AUTOEXEC.BAT file doesn't. Look for the section "[386Enh]" and add a line underneath it that says "device=" followed by the full pathname of the renamed MFI.EXE file. For example, if during installation you rename MFI to SYS_MGR, and the MFI files are in C:\MFI, then you would add the line: "device=c:\mfi\sys_mgr.exe". If you decide to load MFI multiple times from within your AUTOEXEC.BAT file keep in mind that using the "MFI Utilities" to change your password only changes the initial copy of MFI. You have to manually copy that file into the other files. Likewise using the "MFI Utilities" to un-install MFI only un-installs the initial copy of MFI. You'll need to manually remove all other references to the renamed MFI file in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (and SYSTEM.INI if appropriate). * P-Files P-Files (Private Files) are those files you want to be invisible to unauthorized users. You designate which files you want to be P-files by selecting the "Designate P-Files" button in the MFI utilities program. * Making P-files Invisible Your P-files are invisible from the time you start your computer until the time your computer is turned off unless you deliberately make them visible as explained below. * Making P-files Visible To make your P-files visible go into the MFI utilities in the Accessories group (you'll need to enter your password) and then select "Make P-files Visible". This gives you instant, complete, and normal access to all your files, including your P-files. To make your P-files invisible again just return to the MFI utilities (you won't have to enter your password this time as you've already been granted access as an authorized user) and select "Make P-files Invisible". The P-files also become invisible again if your re-boot or turn off your computer. * Other MFI Utility Functions In addition to designating P-files and making them visible or invisible, the MFI Utilities program in the Accessories Group also lets you register MFI, change passwords, read this documentation, install new versions and un-install MFI. Each of these functions is self-explanatory. * WARNING Some not-so-bright disk fix and defragmenting utilities, while perfectly safe if used when P-files are visible, can become confused when P-files are invisible. Their confusion can result in deletion of your P-files. To prevent this from happening you should designate all your disk fix and defragmenting utilities as P-files so that they can only be run when P-files are visible. CHKDSK.EXE is the only program we've tested that becomes confused (and only if run with the /F command line switch), so we've taken the liberty of designating it as a P-file. The versions of SCANDISK and DEFRAG that come with Windows 95 DO NOT get confused and therefore need not be designated as P-files. However, because we've tested no others, all other disk fix and defragmenting utilities SHOULD be designated as P-files, just in case. If you want, you can test your disk fix and defrag utilities to see if they'll be a problem. Just run them with P-files hidden and P- files not hidden. DON'T FIX ANY ERRORS THAT TURN UP!!! If you get more errors when P-files are hidden then that utility should be designated as a P-file so it can only be run when P-files are visible. If the errors are the same when P-files are hidden as they are when P-files are visible then the utility need not be designated as a P-file. For those of you interested in the technical details, this is why CHKDSK (and maybe others) gets confused. These utilities bypass the operating system and directly examine your disk. In this way they can see the space allocated for your invisible files. Instead of directly examining the disk to see which files belong to this allocated space (as smart utilities do) they instead ask the operating system. Since the operating system doesn't see your P- files when they're invisible these utilities assume the space allocated to your invisible files should be freed, thereby deleting the invisible files on that drive. On the other hand these utilities work fine when P-files are visible, because the operating system then sees your P-files. So as we said before, designating these utilities as P-files (thereby allowing them to run only when P-files are visible) completely eliminates the problem. * Things to keep in mind IMPORTANT: Don't designate HUTIL.EXE or MFI.EXE (which you renamed during installation) as P-files or you won't be able to run them when your p-files are invisible. Backups: It's best to make P-files Visible when making backups, otherwise your P-files won't get backed up. Copying P-files: Almost always when P-files are visible you can work on them just as if they were normal files, without worrying about whether they're P-files or not. However, when you use the DOS "copy" command to make a copy of a P-file, the new file is NOT designated as a P-file. Therefore if you copy a P-file, make sure you designate the new copy as a P-file by using the "Designate P-files" function in the MFI utilities. Don't worry about the original file as it remains a P-file. Other P-files: "MFI Utilities" may indicate that there are P-files which you didn't designate as such. Leave these files alone. They may be files other programs need to operate correctly. All or nothing: As you may have noticed, MFI is an all or nothing thing. You can't specify different levels of access. Those with the password have access to all your P-files, those without don't. It's as simple as that. Networks: Do not use MFI on a file server for a LAN. You may however use it to protect files that exist only on your workstation's drives. * Problems? "I'm having problems with my disk compression software" Check your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and make sure the line that run MFI (or whatever you renamed it during installation) is being run AFTER the line that loads your disk compression software (Stacker, DoubleDisk, etc..). "I forgot my password. What now?" You'll need to un-install MFI and re-install it again. Follow these steps exactly: > Remove the statement from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file that runs MFI (remember, of course that you renamed it during installation). Note the full pathname of the MFI file. > If you manually modified the AUTOEXEC.BAT and or SYSTEM.INI files to make MFI harder to defeat then remove all references to the renamed MFI file from those files. > Go to where the MFI file is located and extract MFI.ZIP. Overwrite any existing files. > Re-boot the computer. > From within Windows run INSTALL.EXE in the directory where you extracted MFI.ZIP "I want to un-install MFI but I forgot my password so I can't use the MFI utilities to un-install. What now?" > Remove the statement from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file that runs MFI (remember, of course that you renamed it during installation). Note the full pathname of the MFI file. > If you manually modified the AUTOEXEC.BAT and or SYSTEM.INI files to make MFI harder to defeat then remove all references to the renamed MFI file from those files too. > Exit Windows and re-boot. > Use any file manager to remove the System attributes from all your P-files. Don't forget CHKDSK.EXE which will probably be in your \DOS directory. * Technical Support Registered users can get technical support by calling (206) 939-4105 or by e-mail: rse@aol.com * Latest Versions You can always find the latest versions of all our software on our WEB page at: http://users.aol.com/rse/ Thank you for taking a look at MFI. Hope you find it worthy of your support.