Steganography is the hiding of a secret message within an ordinary message and the extraction of it at its destination. Steganography is a technology that hides a message within an object, a text, or a picture. It is often confused with cryptography, not in name but in appearance and usage.
The easiest way to differentiate the two is to remember steganography conceals not only the contents of the message but also the mere existence of a message. The original steganographic applications used “null ciphers“, or clear text.
A null cipher conveys that the message has not been encrypted in any way, whether it is using basic character shifting, substitution or advanced modern day encryption algorithm. So, the message is often in plain view but for a reason can either not be detected as being present or cannot be seen once detected.
Steganography is a two-part word of Greek origin. “Stegano“, or “covered” and “graphy” or “writing” does not convey the transformation of information, but rather its hidden aspect.
Here is the list of top 12 best steganography tools which you can easily used in both Windows/Unix Platforms.
1. ImageHide
ImageHide is an application that lets you hide text messages in images, so you can safely share them with your friends. This is a portable software, so installing ImageHide is not necessary. It means that you can place the tool on an external device, plug it into any computer and directly run its executable files.
Important Links – Download ImageHide SoftPedia | Contact Developer Dancemammal | Linux Version
2. GifShuffle
The program gifshuffle is used to conceal messages in GIF images by shuffling the colour map, which leaves the image visibly unchanged. gifshuffle works with all GIF images, including those with transparency and animation, and in addition provides compression and encryption of the concealed message.
Important Links – Download GifShuffle | Contact Developer
3. QuickStego
QuickStego lets you hide text in pictures so that only other users of QuickStego can retrieve and read the hidden secret messages. Once text is hidden in an image the saved picture is still a ‘picture’, it will load just like any other image and appear as it did before.
But QuickStego does not ENCRYPT the secret text message though it is well hidden in the image. If you require the message to also be encrypted then QuickCrypto is the product for you. QuickCrypto includes the functions of QuickStego but also allows you to securely encrypt text and files and even hide files on your computer.
Important Links – Download QuickStego | Download QuickCrypto
4. EZStego
This privacy utility demonstrates a new way of communicating securely. Want to communicate securely, but don’t want to send large files of strange-looking numbers? Want to use strong crypto, but know that your email is not secure enough? EZStego works like invisible ink for Internet communication.
EZStego can hide an encrypted text file in a GIF format image file – which is the most commonly used image format on the World Wide Web. The resulting GIF can be attached to an email message or posted on a web page.
Important Links – Download EZStego | Tool Overview
5. OpenStego
OpenStego provides two main functionalities: Data Hiding and Watermarking. It can easily hide any data within a cover file (e.g. images) along with an invisible signature. It can be used to detect unauthorized file copying.
Important Links – Download OpenStego | OpenStego on Github
6. S-Tools
S-Tools is a steganography tool that hides files in BMP, GIF, and WAV files. You open up a copy of S-Tools and drag pictures and sounds across to it. To hide files you just drag them over open sound/picture windows. You can hide multiple files in one sound/picture and your data is compressed before being encrypted then hidden.
Multi-threaded operation means that you can have many hide/reveal operations going simultaneously without fear of them interfering with you or holding up your work. You can even close the original picture/sound with no ill effects to ongoing threads.
Important Links – Download S-Tools | Alternative Download Link
7. JPHS (JPHIDE and JPSEEK)
JPHIDE and JPSEEK are programs which allow you to hide a file in a jpeg visual image. There are lots of versions of similar programs available on the internet but JPHIDE and JPSEEK are rather special. The design objective was not simply to hide a file but rather to do this in such a way that it is impossible to prove that the host file contains a hidden file.
Given a typical visual image, a low insertion rate (under 5%) and the absence of the original file, it is not possible to conclude with any worthwhile certainty that the host file contains inserted data. As the insertion percentage increases the statistical nature of the jpeg coefficients differs from “normal” to the extent that it raises suspicion.
Important Links – Download JPHS | Windows/Linux Version | JPHS on Github
8. WBStego4
WbStego4 offers steganography in bitmaps, text files, HTML files and PDF files. It is has two very user-friendly interfaces and is ideal for securely transmitting data online or adding copyright information, especially with the copyright information manager.
Important Links – Download WbStego4 | Alternative Download Link
9. MP3Stegz
Mp3Stegz is an application that apply steganographic (steganography) algorithm in mp3 files. Mp3stegz will maintain original mp3 file’s size and sound quality. The hidden message is compressed(zlib) and encrypted.
Important Links – Download MP3Stegz | Mp3Stegz Lab on Cybrary
10. OurSecret
OurSecret is a program which was specially designed for hiding files inside others. The program can be installed with ease and features a very simple interface, with plenty of options. The user will first need to load the carrier file into the program’s interface.
This file will carry the important files. After selecting the important files, all the user needs to do is to generate a password, so that the carrier file will not be decoded by unauthorized users. After making all these settings, all that’s left to do is to give a name to the resulting file.
Important Links – Download OurSecret | Contact Developer Securekit
11. OmniHidePro
OmniHide allows you to hide a file within another file. Any file can be hidden within common image/music/ video/document formats. The output file would work just as the original source file would.
Important Links – Download OmniHidePro | Download OmniHidepro Trial
12. StegHide
StegHide is a steganography program that is able to hide data in various kinds of image- and audio-files. The color- respectively sample-frequencies are not changed thus making the embedding resistant against first-order statistical tests.
Important Links – Download StegHide | Documentation of StegHide
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