LNK viewer
To open a LNK file, drop it in the box below. It opens straight away, even with no extension or the wrong one. Your browser opens it on your device: nothing is uploaded.
What you see
| LNK in the viewer | |
|---|---|
| Target | Path, arguments, start folder, comment |
| Times | The target’s created, modified and accessed times |
| Where it was made | Computer name, MAC address and when the file ID was made, from the tracker |
| Nothing run | The shortcut is only read |
| Extensions | .lnk |
| Upload | None: opened on your device |
What is a LNK file?
An LNK file is a Windows shortcut: it points at a file, folder or program and remembers where it was and how to open it.
What the shortcut opens, with its arguments and start folder, then the facts in the file: the target’s size, attributes and times, the window it opens in, its shortcut key and icon, the volume (drive type, serial number, label) or network share, environment-variable paths, known folders, and the computer name and MAC address the link tracker recorded.
How to open a LNK file
- Add your LNK. Drop the file in the box, choose it or paste it.
- Look at it. What the shortcut opens, with its arguments and start folder, then the facts in the file: the target’s size, attributes and times, the window it opens in, its shortcut key and icon, the volume (drive type, serial number, label) or network share, environment-variable paths, known folders, and the computer name and MAC address the link tracker recorded.
- Take it further. Download any file from inside an archive, or open another file.
Questions
Windows’ link tracker stores them so it can find a moved file. They describe the computer where the target was, which is why shortcuts matter in investigations.
No. It is read in your browser.
No. The viewer runs in your browser and opens the file on your device. Nothing is sent anywhere.