LinkParser

Besides the content itself, files contain a wide range of information that can be useful in a number of scenarios. For example, by learning the time when a file was last modified, you can figure out if someone else with access to your PC has made any changes without your knowledge.

LinkParser is a tiny and portable app designed to simplify the entire file analysis process by parsing the shortcuts (.lnk) format which target the files in question. It provides extensive data about the items, such as date of creation, last modification and last access, full path, or network path and device name (if the shortcut points to a file on a computer in the local network).

The tool is very easy to handle since it takes care of the entire file analysis process on its own: you just have to indicate the Microsoft shell links. In addition to opening a single .lnk file, it's possible to point out a folder whose containing shortcuts you want to submit for analysis (files with any other format than .lnk are auto-ignored, without triggering errors).

Besides the previously mentioned info, LinkParser revels the target file's MD5 hash (useful for file integrity checkup), volume serial number and label, local base path, network provider type, relative path, working directory, MAC address, NetBIOS, and others. This data can be saved to CSV files for further inspection and safekeeping.

Since the tool is wrapped in a no-install package, it can be saved in your collection of portable software and used at your convenience. You can also save it to a flash drive to easily move it between your PCs. Worth nothing is that no additional files are created by the tool.

Taking everything into account, LinkParser provides a simple and straightforward solution for analyzing .lnk shortcuts to figure out useful information about the target files.