an interesting thing that you never exprienced it@
try to create a file or folder named con in windows!
you will never be succed to that! and also you are not able to make these names too!!!!:D
con nul lpt1 lpt2 lpt3 com1 com2 and com3 !!!::D you have prize if you make a folder named them!:D
but you can use this option to lock your cd(s) !!::D
you can create a folder named con out of windows! and so this folder can not be opened at windows!!:D:D
enjoy!

This post has been edited by irmlm: Oct 7 2006, 10:00 PM

And the reason for this is because all of these words are DOS 'reserved' words.
In the olden days, the various 'words' you listed were special words in the Disk Operating System even before Microsoft built their MS-DOS.
Lpt1 means lineprinter number one, a big ole, clanky thing that used (typically) a chain which had all the letters mounted on it and the letter got 'whacked' by a small hammer-thing when it was in the correct position on a page. Similar to the hammer of a piano. Printers have come a long ways since those days. lpt1 was a parrallel port and the com's were serial ports. The printer was not shared by all users, either. You needed to stand in line and wait for the paper to come out. As a student, you were the lowest priority and usually you could leave, have a meal and a drink before the output was ready.
When the pc became popular, the requirement for backwards compatability means that these are still 'reserved words'.

Oh, yea, 'con' was the abbreviation for 'console'. No need to explain that to a Unix user.

Wow... I never knew about something like this. But it makes sense, especially after what jlhaslip just said. It kind of makes me think about some of the programming languages that I learned, where there were certain reserved words in them as well, that you couldn't use as variable names. So, I guess this is along the same lines. Anyway, thanks for the information I just got my quota filled for learning something new today

This was the exploit discovered from Windows 98 SE. The infamous con/con exploit used IE to take control over your operating system just by accessing the malicious code from a website.

Since then Microsoft released security patch to disable from operating system executing it remotely/automatically.

Theoretically you can do anything to Windows security protection by disabling Windows restore, restore point and system file protection and you can delete system files and create faulty directories. This was demonstrated when Windows 2000 was released. Microsoft performed 1 hour demonstration class in Rochester, NY how to delete and modify system protected files/directories by doing few steps. The process method came up when Microsoft spokesperson for corporate training desmonstrated that system files/directories cannot be deleted. And in the event of deletion, a restart will bring back deleted system files purged.

But I wouldn't go around and mess with things that are not broken

how to create a con folder
Make A Folder Named Con

On your desktop right click and create a folder and click alt and 255 it decodes and then type con you can get it try it if any one had any more doubts mail me your question I will try to solve it


-reply by bobby

con folder
Make A Folder Named Con

On your desktop right click and create a folder and click alt and 255
Copy the space & paste then rename the folder con so you will be see the folder name changed by con.

-question by rupesh