Hey, does anyone know how to decrypt files, like a .dat file or id2 file?
I was looking on my pc and opened a few in notepad, but didn't understand it.
I did some searching but was not able to find what I needed to figure out was the text meant.
Thanks.

There are software tools that will display code from binary files or compiled programs in plain text. Some are better and more accurate than others. Search some open source developer sites.

I looked at a few, not sure which one, some are confusing.

It depends, that .dat file could have anything in it. It's not encrypted, it's code.

What did it come from?

My messenger I think. I just tried to open the file in notepad, it was all crypted.

What were you looking for?

And it's not 'crypted'. It's code.

What were you looking for?

And it's not 'crypted'. It's code.

it's not really even code to tell you the truth. It's just gibberish.

.dat files and messengers are a pain in the ass if you want to open them. Yahoo and Aim are notorious for them.

If you're trying to open it with notepad, notepad has no clue what it is, so it tries to decipher it into something notepad knows, which usually ends up being a bunch of squares, letters and other symbols that don't translate into anything.

In order to open it properly, you'd have to know what application created the .dat file. In the instance of a messenger, it could be anything. The extension ".dat" is a very vague file description that covers many, many applications.

Is there any specific reason you're trying to open it?

it's not really even code to tell you the truth. It's just gibberish.

Yeah, true, they're usually just an index of stuff like time stamps, last-chatted-withs, files sent/received, and other miscellaneous crap.

If you really want to play......

https://www.reverse-engineering.net/

Yeah, true, they're usually just an index of stuff like time stamps, last-chatted-withs, files sent/received, and other miscellaneous crap.

mostly. he's going to go through all the trouble of reverse engineering it through mda's link and it's going to be a history file of him talking with his mom. ;)

I hate messenger clients. They take a boatload of room up, and the programming is just sub-par. If any of you guys want to try it out i use www.meebo.com It connects to all the major chats (AIM/YAHOO/MSN/ICQ) and you don't have to download anything, it just shows up as a webpage on your browser.

Much more efficient and less crap on your hard drive.

I dunno. Gaim/Pidgin is pretty schpanky to me, especially across different OSes. :D

Pidgin supports multiple operating systems, including Windows as well as many Unix-like systems such as Linux, BSD, and AmigaOS (through the X11 engine). It is notable for its support for multiple instant messaging protocols. It has built-in support for NSS, offering client-to-server message encryption for protocols that support it. The program is extendable through plugins, including "Off-the-Record Messaging" and Pidgin encryption[2], providing end-to-end message encryption.

And the protocols?

Supported protocols

* .NET Messenger Service (commonly known as MSN)
* OSCAR (AIM/ICQ/.Mac)
* XMPP (Jabber, Google Talk)
* Gadu-Gadu
* Internet Relay Chat
* MySpaceIM
* Novell GroupWise
* SILC
* Yahoo!
* Zephyr
* Lotus Sametime (previously supported by the third party gaim-meanwhile plugin)
* QQ (previously supported by the third-party OpenQ plugin). QQ does not work in the most recent release of Pidgin; incoming and outgoing messages are replaced with the text "(NULL)".[8]
* Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) (only chat at present)
* Bonjour (Apple's implementation of Zeroconf)
* Tlen (with a third-party plugin)[9]
* Xfire (with a third-party plugin)[10]
* Skype (with a third-party plugin)[11]
* NateOn (with a third-party plugin)[12]
* SNPP (with a third-party plugin)[13]
* Napster (with a third-party plugin)[14]
* WinMX Peer Network (WPN) (with a third-party plugin)[15]

Pidgin is the cats ass.

I just want to see what the files reads after decrypting.

I just want to see what the files reads after decrypting.

:doh0715: