EXE Explorer

A file's properties window can tell you about the file's size, format and other details, but it's not too much to go on if you're an advanced user and you need to know something about a particular resource. EXE Explorer, on the other hand, can give you all the information you need about executable files. It can show you its structure, resources, checksums and everything else you want to know about that file. Every bit of information is neatly categorized and easy to find, so you can locate the details you're looking for at a moment's notice, without any effort.

The software is free for personal, educational and non-commercial use. It works on Windows XP and all later versions, up to Windows 10, including several Server editions. You only need to extract an executable from a ZIP archive and run it, without going through an installation process. Also, you don't need to meet any special requirements to launch the application.

The main user interface is completely blank when you run the application. Before it displays anything, you need to import a .exe file through a standard browsing option in the File menu. Once you import an executable, the software will immediately display a wealth of information, all neatly categorized in tree structures, columns, on tabs and sub-tabs.

The amount of information EXE Explorer provides about a single file is vastly larger than what the operating system will ever give you on a single window. You can look up a file's headers, sections, directories, exports and imports, resources, strings, thread load storage, units, forms, packages, as well as its HEX values. Each one of these categories contains sub-tabs and tree structures with all the details you can ask for. What's more, if you double-click certain entries, the software will take you directly to their corresponding HEX values, which can be invaluable to people who work with files on this level.

To help you find information faster, the software provides you with a handy search tool, which you can bring up at any time in the lower part of the user interface. It doesn't come with advanced filtering option, but it will find anything that contains the piece of text you type into the search box. Another feature you will find useful is EXE Explorer's VirusTotal integration. Simply click a button in the upper-right corner of the interface, and the program will submit the loaded file right away and tell you if there's any malware to worry about.

You can certainly say that EXE Explorer can tell you everything you will ever need to know about executable files.