“A hex editor is a software tool that enables you to read most
files stored on a PC. Since information resides on a computer as a
series of ones and zeroes (binary data), it becomes easier to read
as data in hexadecimal (base 16) format, which is composed of
Arabic numerals and alpha characters. For example, 6F72 is 28530 in
decimal….”
“And, the editor’s screen would have three sections. The center
section contains the actual Hex code as above. A left section would
give the memory address for each line of hex. Then, a right section
would give the equivalent ASCII text for the Hex code. Probably
your reaction is that all this information is interesting, but what
does it have to do with computer security?”
“To answer that question, examining the additional capabilities
of the hex editor becomes important.
1.It can directly edit sectors on your hard drive or floppy
disk.
2.Find and replace hex, bitmasks, decimal, or ASCII values.
3.Compare differences in files.
4.Calculate checksums and digests.
5.Print hex dumps.”