Sometimes you may want to make sure that a particular folder, and more precisely files stored in that folder, is not tampered with by any means. This includes the assurance that files have not been edited, moved, deleted or manipulated in any other way. And while you could use a program like Checksum Control, SFV Ninja or Checksum Integrity Verifier, you may prefer to be notified in realtime when changes happen.
The programs mentioned before only verify the integrity of files when they are executed, while a program like Track Folder Changes displays the changes the moment they happen.
When you first start the program you will notice that all directories on the root drive are monitored by it by default. You may want to change that to reduce the noise created by the application. Just click on the folder browser icon to select a folder with the mouse, or enter a desired folder manually in the form to start the monitoring.
All previously displayed changes are reset the moment you select a new folder to monitor. You could copy a new file into the folder to test if the monitoring is picking up the changes, but it is usually not necessary.
The program uses color codes to distinguish between new and deleted folder changes. New files are highlighted in green, manipulations in blue and removed files in an orange tone. The program displays the directory structure if changes happen in subfolders of the selected root folder.
Be aware that Track Folder Changes does not detect all file manipulations. It detected when files where added, deleted or moved with accuracy. File modifications where not always detected on the other hand. (If you are one of those users you may want to take a closer look at Directory Monitor which can detect those file manipulations as well)
You can download Track Folder Changes from the program’s Codeplex project website. Please note that it requires a recent version of the Microsoft .Net Framework to be installed on the system.
© Martin Brinkmann for gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials, 2012. | Permalink |
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