https://chatgpt.com/share/66f36ea9-6edc-800e-b126-6ed22542e79

You said:
I received in response to a records request for video the data encoded into a .exe file. I'm on linux. The .exe file contains the string "This is Tango Storage Magic". When run in wine it displays a corrupt view of several videos. Have you ever heard of this? Do you know of any tools or websites that would provide more information on the nature of the file, or find embedded data within it, quickly and automatically?
ChatGPT said:
ChatGPT

I haven't come across "Tango Storage Magic" before, but it sounds like a custom or obscure file format or utility that might involve media storage or video archiving. To analyze this .exe file for any embedded data, you can try the following tools:

  1. Binwalk: This tool can search for and extract embedded files within executables, such as videos or other data. It's useful for identifying files hidden inside the binary.

    bash
    binwalk filename.exe
  2. strings: This can extract human-readable strings from the file. It might help uncover more clues about the file's format or contents.

    bash
    strings filename.exe
  3. PE Tools: Use tools like pescan or peframe to analyze the structure of the executable and search for unusual or hidden sections.

    bash
    pescan filename.exe
  4. Hex Editors: You could open the file in a hex editor like GHex or Bless to manually inspect the file for embedded data such as video files or encoded information.

  5. ExifTool: If the file does contain video or image data, ExifTool might be able to extract metadata about the media files embedded within the executable.

    bash
    exiftool filename.exe

You might want to try these methods to get more information on the nature of the file.

You said:
exiftool has this!
File Description                : Clip Player
File Version                    : 3.5.7.37
Internal Name                   : ClipPlayer.exe
Legal Copyright                 : 
Original File Name              : ClipPlayer.exe
Product Name                    : ClipCopy Player
Product Version                 : 3.5.7.37
Special Build                   : 2017081101
ChatGPT said:
ChatGPT

It seems the file is likely a proprietary video player (ClipCopy Player) built for viewing specific media formats or embedded videos, which could explain why the videos appear corrupt when run in Wine. Given this, it's possible the .execontains encoded or packaged video data that is meant to be played only through this custom player.

To extract or analyze the videos further, you might consider:

  1. Wine Debugging: Run the .exe under Wine with debug options to get more details about what it's trying to do and if there are specific calls related to video handling.

    bash
    WINEDEBUG=+all wine ClipPlayer.exe
  2. File Carving: Use a file carving tool like Foremost or Scalpel to attempt to recover video data that might be embedded within the .exe.

    bash
    foremost -i filename.exe -o output_folder
  3. Analyze Dependencies: Use Dependency Walker (run through Wine) to see what libraries the program depends on. This might give you insights into how it handles media.

If these tools don't help, the executable might use some form of proprietary encryption or encoding for the media, requiring the original software environment to properly decode the files.

You said:
I found the format mentioned at https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/iym1t7/exe_clipcopy_player_file_failed_to_open_data_file/ . It says to open it as a zip file with 7zip or winrar and the data can be extracted. Do you know how I'd do that in the terminal?
ChatGPT said:
ChatGPT

Yes, you can use 7z from the terminal to extract the contents of the .exe file. Here's how to do it:

  1. Install p7zip if it's not already installed:

    On Debian/Ubuntu:

    bash
    sudo apt-get install p7zip-full

    On RHEL/CentOS:

    bash
    sudo yum install p7zip
  2. Once installed, you can try extracting the .exe file as if it were a zip file using the following command:

    bash
    7z x filename.exe

This will extract all the contents of the .exe file into the current directory. You can then inspect the extracted files for the video data or any relevant media files.

You said:
do you know the git repo for 7z?
ChatGPT said:
ChatGPT

The official GitHub repository for the 7-Zip project is located here:

https://github.com/p7zip-project/p7zip

This is the repo for the p7zip version, which is the Linux and Unix port of the 7-Zip compression software.

You said:
do you know a simple way in the commandline to carve the exe for archives?
ChatGPT said:
ChatGPT

You can use **Binwalk