The file system Windows uses (NTFS) has a lot of neat features, but ends up being astronomically slow in unexpected ways for some file operations as a result.
I remember playing around with NTFS streams. They’re usually used to store random metadata about a file. The size of which doesn’t appear in the normal file size calculation/display in Windows. So you can have this 2kb text file that has an alternate stream with a zip file of the entire discography of a band stuffed into it. Longest file transfer of 2kb ever. Another gotcha, the second you copy that file to a file system that doesn’t support the alternate streams they just vanish. So all the sudden that long file transfer is super quick.
See, so I’ve never seen the purpose of NTFS streams. In a cyber security course, I was warned to look out for Alternate Data Streams, but got an unsatisfactory answer when I prodded the instructor for more (it was apparent that didn’t have anything beyond a surface level understanding of them).
Your link was informative in grasping what they are, but I still don’t think I’m clear on how they’re used in the “real world”. Like, what (and how) would one use them for a legitimate purpose?
It’s been a few years since I last looked at them but I believe one of the most notable uses was the icon. If you had a custom icon for an application or the thumbnail image for a photo.
The file system Windows uses (NTFS) has a lot of neat features, but ends up being astronomically slow in unexpected ways for some file operations as a result.
I remember playing around with NTFS streams. They’re usually used to store random metadata about a file. The size of which doesn’t appear in the normal file size calculation/display in Windows. So you can have this 2kb text file that has an alternate stream with a zip file of the entire discography of a band stuffed into it. Longest file transfer of 2kb ever. Another gotcha, the second you copy that file to a file system that doesn’t support the alternate streams they just vanish. So all the sudden that long file transfer is super quick.
See, so I’ve never seen the purpose of NTFS streams. In a cyber security course, I was warned to look out for Alternate Data Streams, but got an unsatisfactory answer when I prodded the instructor for more (it was apparent that didn’t have anything beyond a surface level understanding of them).
Your link was informative in grasping what they are, but I still don’t think I’m clear on how they’re used in the “real world”. Like, what (and how) would one use them for a legitimate purpose?
It’s been a few years since I last looked at them but I believe one of the most notable uses was the icon. If you had a custom icon for an application or the thumbnail image for a photo.