Windows 7 and previous versions of Windows hide file extensions by default, which is a big security risk and Microsoft should have fixed this in Windows 7. A common technique virus authors use is disguising a .exe file as .jpg, .doc, or .txt when it’s actually a executable file (.exe) making you run and install a malicious program. For example a bad guy can name a virus “pictures-of-britney.jpg.exe”, if your file extension was hidden you would not realize the file was a .exe because you would only see “pictures-of-britney.jpg” and once you realized what you did it’s to late.
How to Show File Extension in Windows 7
1. Open Windows Explorer, you can do this by opening up any folder or you can just click Start > User Name.
2. Click “Organize”, scroll down and click “Folder and search options”.
3. Click the “View” tab. Scroll down until you see “Hide extensions for known file types”, un-check this line here by clicking on the check box.
4. Click “OK” and now your file extensions will now longer be hidden.
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“….which is a big security risk and Microsoft should of fixed this in Windows 7.”
Should have been:
“…which is a big security risk and Microsoft should have fixed this in Windows 7.”
“Should’ve” is not a contraction for “should of,” it is a contraction for “should have.”
thanks.simple and useful.
thanks. got what i needed! and it took two seconds!
Thanks for taking the time to post this
I found a Microsoft fix it package to do this job in an automatic way:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/865219
thanks man !
Thanks allot, really simple. Feel quite embarrassed really, I should know these things.
anyway thanks again for the support..
I LOVE YOU! Thanks!
Thanks! Just came from a Mac, and this was driving me crazy.
tnx a lot
I appreciate your expertise! This helped out!
thank you!!!
Thank you very much!
Thanks bud! Works like a charm!
Thank you, this was doing my head in.
Thanks mate!!!
Thank you. Microsoft sucks cuz they are making things complicated.
Microsoft HAS to keep changing things in order to stay in business. They wouldn’t have jobs unless they came up with new stuff all of the time. Some of it is good, but other parts are superfluous. That is what drives me crazy…I just get to where I am familiar with their programs and icons and can find my way around quickly, then they go and change the appearance and location of everything and I lose all of my productivity. And to be fair, it isn’t just Microsoft, either, it’s AutoCAD, MicroStation and other software as well. Even the grocery stores change where they put stuff in the aisles so you can’t find what you want. Makes you glad to get old so you can die.
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