Best Free Hex Editor
If you ever accidentally open an exe program file in a text editor such as Notepad you will be confronted with a mass of unintelligible garbage on your screen. Worse still if you write the exe file back to disk, the program file would almost certainly be corrupted and would not work. That's because text editors are designed only to work with text files which are files with extensions such as .txt, .bat, .prg and .html. To view and safely change binary files such as .exe, .com and .dll files you need a hex editor, sometimes called a binary editor. However, most average PC users have no need for such a program but techies and gamers find them indispensable.
There are some excellent free hex editors available that range from the small and simple editors to advanced products that are comparable to any commercial product. In total I looked at four products: HexEdit [1], Cygnus Free [2], Hxd [3], Hexplorer [4] HHD Free. Hex editors (like programming editors) are a software category where personal needs and preferences are so important that it is meaningless to pick a "best product". Instead I encourage all potential users to test several or all of the products and choose what suits them best. That of course doesn't stop me stating what I like.
For my needs, Hxd is a clear winner. Its first virtue is that it doesn't need installing. Second, it has a great interface. Third, it handles huge files without slowing down. Then add in unlimited undo, great searching and search/replace capabilities, full support for ANSI, DOS/IBM-ASCII and EBCDIC character plus a dozen other features and you can see why I like it. But it doesn't stop there. Hxd also works as a RAW disk editor and a full read/write RAM editor. Recently, binary file comparison has also been added to this product.
This power also makes it a dangerous tool in the hands of beginners. It may also give your security software apoplexy, but users skilled enough to use this product will understand this not a concern. Is it perfect? Of course not. To start, it lacks binary file comparison capability and the ability to extract text strings. A built in disassembler would also be nice. There are also a few bugs. However, what it offers is so impressive that it's hard to believe that this fine product is free.
[1] HexEdit
Website: http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~prewett/hexedit/
License: Freeware
Download file size: 147 KB
Windows Operating Systems Supported: 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003
Server/Vista
Non-Windows Operating Systems Supported: None
64 Bit Capable: No
Portable Version Available: No
Additional Software Required: None
[2] Cygnus Free
Website: http://www.softcircuits.com/cygnus/fe/
License: Freeware (Paid version available with more features)
Download file size: 284 KB
Windows Operating Systems Supported: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 3.5, and
later
Non-Windows Operating Systems Supported: None
64 Bit Capable: No
Portable Version Available: No
Additional Software Required: None
[3] Hxd
Website: http://www.mh-nexus.de/hxd/
License: Freeware
Download file size: 747 KB
Windows Operating Systems Supported: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4, 2000,
XP or 2003
Non-Windows Operating Systems Supported: None
64 Bit Capable: No
Portable Version Available: Yes
Additional Software Required: None
[4] Hexplorer
Website: https://sourceforge.net/projects/hexplorer/
License: Freeware
Download file size: 1.6 MB
Windows Operating Systems Supported: 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003
Server/Vista
Non-Windows Operating Systems Supported: None
64 Bit Capable: No
Portable Version Available: No
Additional Software Required: None
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Surely the best Hex Editor in the world is HHD Software Hex Editor Commercial version , but the free version is powerfull too, which I think if it is not the best free hex editor, at least is one of the bests :
Free Hex Editor Neo
http://www.hhdsoftware.com/Products/home/hex-editor-free.html
and then :
Tiny Hexer
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Miscellaneous/tiny-hexer.shtml
HexEdit
http://www.hexedit.com/ ( download the free version and templates )
XVI32 whick is commented before :
http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/delphi/freeware/xvi32/xvi32.htm
HxD , exists on this page
http://mh-nexus.de/programs.htm
Catch 22 HexEdit
http://catch22.net/software/hexedit.asp
Hexplorer , exists on this page
https://sourceforge.net/projects/hexplorer/
Hadi
I have go to agree that XVI32 is better than all those listed here.
Hi guys,
Brilliant lists - really useful.
You're right about this category being very subjective. My contribution is Frhed... http://www.kibria.de/frhed.html
It's got most of the features you mentioned above and is Gnu wotsit.
Cheers, R.
http://www.x-ways.net/winhex/index-m.html
WinHex might be worth checking out, and it appears to be free for personal use.
Hi Peter,
Thanks for your suggestion. Please notice however, that the software is not a freeware and requires a license (EUR 44.90) even for personal use.
Warm Regards,
Abhishek
--Category Editor
@commenter above: XVI32 doesn't handle large files well, since it loads them entirely into memory. This makes it *slow*.
How about the hex editor at http://www.hextoolbox.com
It supports:
# Search files as large as 16 terabytes!
# Multi-Threaded searching. Search in all files open.
# Fast searching at over 1 gigabyte per minute* !
# Easy to use integrated base converter.
# Search in hex,ascii or even a mix. C and Java programmers can use \n \r \t and other characters in a search.
# Perform search and replace.
# PKZip(R) and WinZip(R) compatbile checksums.
# S-Record export.
# Measure and Cut locations from one file to another.
# Perform counts of hits found. Example: Search for how many times the word CD-ROM appears in a file.
# EBCDIC to ASCII translation. Even create you own custom translations!
# View data as ASCII text file or HEX.
# Context color highlighting in text view.
# Programmers box to display HEX data as numeric values. Performs INTEL or MOTOROLA formats.
# Store locations for later quick reference (Bookmarks).
# Explorer integration.
# Drag and drop file support.
# Multithreaded searching. Open unlimited files at one time and search them all concurrently.
# Encrypt and Decrypt any part of file.
# Unlimited undo !
Thank you for your feedback. However, I will not be able to include your suggestion as it is not a freeware.
Warm Regards,
Abhishek
--Category Editor
Looks nice... but it's not free!!!
HEXEdit.exe it the correct name however the best is published by MiTeC located at www.mitec.cz. This program is up to date, wheel mouse compatible and all the extras.
The Hex Editor at the top of my list is XVI32 by Christian Maas. Handles large files, has comprehensive search and replace options, even has a built-in scripting language that is easy to use.
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