RegToText - Registry to Text Utility

RegtoTextPro version 5 is a command line utility that converts convoluted values in Windows Registry export file (.reg) into a human readable text. Arbitrary data values and decoded now using Mozilla Universal Charset Detector library to determine best character set to convert too. If there is no match, a fallback encoding can be specified via command switch to eyeball a best fitting match.

Why do you need to be able to read the registry anyway?

Malware Lives in the Registry and is not Removed by Antivirus Tools

Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) are software that may cause unwanted behavior on your device. They can be bundled with free software, downloaded unintentionally, or distributed through deceptive advertising. Files are detected and removed my most antivirus tools, but the registry entries still contain the modifications. Malware remains in the registry and is not even discovered! Some of which can cause shutdown commands and booting from old images, and prevention of windows updates, or roll backs windows updated to expose previous loopholes and vulnerabilities. Last year, Malwarebytes found 433 million PUPs!

Basically, you have to manually investigate the registry after an infection!

NOTE: Remember to back-up your registry file weekly. Install Microsoft free tool Process Monitor is an advanced monitoring tool for Windows that shows real-time file system, Registry and process/thread activity.

💀 WARNING:

RegtoText (free edition) is a paid utility, and an old out-of-date limited demo was released to www.softpedia.com site only. All other sites will contain malware under the hood. The "cracked version" will contain malaware! Also, there were a number of limitation and bugs in that old version.
Again, RegtoText v3 is licensed product and out-of-date, and has been replaced RegtoTextPro which is licensed.

RegtoTextPro Version 5

Version 5 (2025)

This version now includes the following encoding types of ASCII, UTF8, UNI, LIT and HTML. UNI stands for Unicode (UTF-16 LE). LIT stands for literal string and outputs string as it stored in memory for C Sharp language, meaning all control characters escaped when outputted. For HTML, the string is HTML Entity encoded.

An exciting improvement is the use of the is Mozilla Universal Charset Detector library to interpret indeterminate hex: and hex3: values. These value types can contain any kind of string encoding or structured format. Hence the difficulty in decrypting these values.

The fallback encoding command line choice is used to interpret the hex values. Now you can specify ASCII, UTF8, Unicode to interpret hex: values in registry. This encoding choice also determines the file format.

Version 4 (2020) now includes two new encoding output types LIT and HTML, which preserves full fidelity of the registry input. LIT short for literary, in which uses the programs software language (C Sharp) own internal representation of a string and outputs this value. HTML option will HTML encode the output to be viewed in web browser.

Hex values that are of unknown type are converted into ANSI characters when possible. Conversion can be challenging since registry key can accept any binary format, so heuristic and probabilistic methods are used to decode values when possible, to ANSI. There was some loss of data with previous version.

Version 3 (2019) attempts to decode Darwin Descriptors (DD), those are values that look like this "w_1^VX!!!!!!!!!MKKSkEXCELFiles>tW{~$4Q]c@II=l2xaTO5" in the registry.

Decoded Darwin Descriptor example.

[REG_MULTI_SZ:<DarwinDesc>]{91120000-0030-0000-0000-0000000ff1ce}EXCELFiles{0638c49d-bb8b-4cd1-b191-052e8f325736} /e

Learn more about Darwin Descriptors' here.

RegtoTextPro Target Audience

This tool target as forensic (FBI, CIA, Antivirus Co), corporate admins, backup admins, and security admins to quickly search and eyeball the entire registry file for encoded values that are suspicious. Registry keys could hold persistent malware signatures (like Poweliks), back-doors or simply hidden secret messages, but most commonly are defective foreign languages encodings can be spotted more efficiently with human eyes. Antiviruses do not clean these dangling enteries, just the files they point too. Furthermore, once this file is decoded using RegtoTextPro, it is searchable as a human readable text file and can be indexed in any internal forensic exploit search engine/database.

RegtoTextPro Version 5 Command Line Example

RegtoTextPro command line usage looks like this

RegtoTextPro takes a typical Registry exported file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail]
"LinkTest"=hex(6):00,00,00,00,06,00,00,00,38,00,00,00,44,00,00,00,22,00,00,00,53,00,79,00,6d,00,62,00,6f,00,6c,00,69,00,63,00,4c,00,69,00,6e,00,6b,00,56,00,61,00,6c,00,75,00,65,00,00,00,5c,00,52,00,65,00,67,00,69,00,73,00,74,00,72,00,79,00,5c,00,4d,00,61,00,63,00,68,00,69,00,6e,00,65,00,5c,00,53,00,6f,00,66,00,74,00,77,00,61,00,72,00,65,00,5c,00,46,00,53,00,4c,00,6f,00,67,00
"DisabledScriptsHEX4"=hex(4):7f,ff,ff,ff
"DisabledScriptsHEX42000000010 "=hex(4):77,35,94,0A
"DisabledScriptsHEX52000000010not"=hex(5):77,35,94,0A
"DisabledScriptsHEX5"=hex(5):00
"DisabledScriptsHEX51606664150"=hex(5):D6,BF,C3,5F
"DisabledScriptsHEX41606664150"=hex(4):5F,C3,BF,D6
"DisabledScriptsHEX490AB12CD"=hex(4):90,AB,12,CD
"DisabledScriptsHEX590AB12CD"=hex(5):CD,12,AB,90
"DisabledScriptsHEX1Test"=hex(1):47,00,61,00,6c,00,6c,00,65,00,72,00,79,00,53,00,68,00,\
  65,00,65,00,74,00,00,00,56,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,69,00,6f,00,6e,00,43,00,75,\
  00,65,00,00,00,56,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,69,00,6f,00,6e,00,43,00,75,00,65,00,\
  53,00,44,00,4b,00,4c,00,6f,00,61,00,64,00,65,00,72,00,00,00,00,00
"DisabledScripts"=hex(7):47,00,61,00,6c,00,6c,00,65,00,72,00,79,00,53,00,68,00,\
  65,00,65,00,74,00,00,00,56,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,69,00,6f,00,6e,00,43,00,75,\
  00,65,00,00,00,56,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,69,00,6f,00,6e,00,43,00,75,00,65,00,\
  53,00,44,00,4b,00,4c,00,6f,00,61,00,64,00,65,00,72,00,00,00,00,00
"Store Root"=hex(2):25,00,55,00,53,00,45,00,52,00,50,00,52,00,4f,00,46,00,49,\
  00,4c,00,45,00,25,00,5c,00,41,00,70,00,70,00,44,00,61,00,74,00,61,00,5c,00,\
  4c,00,6f,00,63,00,61,00,6c,00,5c,00,4d,00,69,00,63,00,72,00,6f,00,73,00,6f,\
  00,66,00,74,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,4c,00,\
  69,00,76,00,65,00,20,00,4d,00,61,00,69,00,6c,00,5c,00,00,00
"RtlLogOutput"=dword:00000001
"Default User"=hex:
"DatabaseVersion"=dword:00000012
"Running"=dword:00000000
"First Calendar Run Done"=dword:00000001
"Migration Attempts"=dword:00000001
"VerStamp"=dword:00000000
"Settings Upgraded"=dword:00000011
"LDAP Server ID"=dword:00000003
"DatabaseCorruptTime"=hex:60,9e,80,26,8c,c4,cb,01
"V7StoreMigDone"=hex(0):01,00,00,00
"Compact Check Count"=dword:00000002
"LastBackup"=hex:dd,07,01,00,03,00,02,00,13,00,0f,00,2e,00,09,01
"Last Search Index"=dword:00000002
"SearchFolderVersion"=dword:00000012
"SearchFolderLaunchesUntilRebuild"=dword:00000004
"Default LDAP Account"="account{D8DB2A07-80D5-46F6-B417-75016BA9F207}.oeaccount"
"First Run Done"=dword:00000001
"Mail Is Ready"=dword:00000000
"First Signin Warning"=dword:00000007
"mhtml guid"="{908DF815-18C6-4AC5-980D-49110B6C5563}"
"RibbonSettingsComposeMailNews"=hex:3c,73,69,71,3a,63,75,73,74,6f,6d,55,49,20,\
  78,6d,6c,6e,73,3a,73,69,71,3d,22,68,74,74,70,3a,2f,2f,73,63,68,65,6d,61,73,\
  2e,6d,69,63,72,6f,73,6f,66,74,2e,63,6f,6d,2f,77,69,6e,64,6f,77,73,2f,32,30,\
  30,39,2f,72,69,62,62,6f,6e,2f,71,61,74,22,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,72,69,62,62,6f,\
  6e,20,6d,69,6e,69,6d,69,7a,65,64,3d,22,66,61,6c,73,65,22,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,\
  71,61,74,20,70,6f,73,69,74,69,6f,6e,3d,22,30,22,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,73,68,61,\
  72,65,64,43,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,73,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,63,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,20,\
  69,64,51,3d,22,73,69,71,3a,31,30,37,30,34,22,20,76,69,73,69,62,6c,65,3d,22,\
  74,72,75,65,22,20,61,72,67,75,6d,65,6e,74,3d,22,30,22,2f,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,\
  63,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,20,69,64,51,3d,22,73,69,71,3a,31,30,34,38,38,22,20,76,\
  69,73,69,62,6c,65,3d,22,66,61,6c,73,65,22,20,61,72,67,75,6d,65,6e,74,3d,22,\
  30,22,2f,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,63,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,20,69,64,51,3d,22,73,69,71,\
  3a,31,33,36,37,32,22,20,76,69,73,69,62,6c,65,3d,22,66,61,6c,73,65,22,20,61,\
  72,67,75,6d,65,6e,74,3d,22,30,22,2f,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,63,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,\
  20,69,64,51,3d,22,73,69,71,3a,31,30,34,33,22,20,76,69,73,69,62,6c,65,3d,22,\
  74,72,75,65,22,20,61,72,67,75,6d,65,6e,74,3d,22,30,22,2f,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,\
  63,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,20,69,64,51,3d,22,73,69,71,3a,31,30,34,34,22,20,76,69,\
  73,69,62,6c,65,3d,22,74,72,75,65,22,20,61,72,67,75,6d,65,6e,74,3d,22,30,22,\
  2f,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,63,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,20,69,64,51,3d,22,73,69,71,3a,31,\
  33,36,32,34,22,20,76,69,73,69,62,6c,65,3d,22,74,72,75,65,22,20,61,72,67,75,\
  6d,65,6e,74,3d,22,30,22,2f,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,63,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,20,69,64,\
  51,3d,22,73,69,71,3a,31,33,36,35,36,22,20,76,69,73,69,62,6c,65,3d,22,74,72,\
  75,65,22,20,61,72,67,75,6d,65,6e,74,3d,22,30,22,2f,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,63,6f,\
  6e,74,72,6f,6c,20,69,64,51,3d,22,73,69,71,3a,31,33,36,36,30,22,20,76,69,73,\
  69,62,6c,65,3d,22,74,72,75,65,22,20,61,72,67,75,6d,65,6e,74,3d,22,30,22,2f,\
  3e,3c,2f,73,69,71,3a,73,68,61,72,65,64,43,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,73,3e,3c,2f,73,\
  69,71,3a,71,61,74,3e,3c,2f,73,69,71,3a,72,69,62,62,6f,6e,3e,3c,2f,73,69,71,\
  3a,63,75,73,74,6f,6d,55,49,3e,0d,0a
"SpoolerDlgPos"=hex:2c,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\
  ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,4f,02,00,00,33,01,00,00,41,04,00,00,ce,01,00,00
"SpoolerTack"=dword:00000000
"LastRun"=hex:5d,79,cd,4b,25,e9,cd,01
"TotalUpTime"=dword:00001240
"RibbonSettingsReadNote"=hex:3c,73,69,71,3a,63,75,73,74,6f,6d,55,49,20,78,6d,\
  6c,6e,73,3a,73,69,71,3d,22,68,74,74,70,3a,2f,2f,73,63,68,65,6d,61,73,2e,6d,\
  69,63,72,6f,73,6f,66,74,2e,63,6f,6d,2f,77,69,6e,64,6f,77,73,2f,32,30,30,39,\
  2f,72,69,62,62,6f,6e,2f,71,61,74,22,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,72,69,62,62,6f,6e,20,\
  6d,69,6e,69,6d,69,7a,65,64,3d,22,66,61,6c,73,65,22,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,71,61,\
  74,20,70,6f,73,69,74,69,6f,6e,3d,22,30,22,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,73,68,61,72,65,\
  64,43,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,73,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,63,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,20,69,64,\
  51,3d,22,73,69,71,3a,31,30,34,38,38,22,20,76,69,73,69,62,6c,65,3d,22,74,72,\
  75,65,22,20,61,72,67,75,6d,65,6e,74,3d,22,30,22,2f,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,63,6f,\
  6e,74,72,6f,6c,20,69,64,51,3d,22,73,69,71,3a,31,30,36,30,30,22,20,76,69,73,\
  69,62,6c,65,3d,22,74,72,75,65,22,20,61,72,67,75,6d,65,6e,74,3d,22,30,22,2f,\
  3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,63,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,20,69,64,51,3d,22,73,69,71,3a,31,30,\
  36,30,38,22,20,76,69,73,69,62,6c,65,3d,22,74,72,75,65,22,20,61,72,67,75,6d,\
  65,6e,74,3d,22,30,22,2f,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,63,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,20,69,64,51,\
  3d,22,73,69,71,3a,31,30,34,39,36,22,20,76,69,73,69,62,6c,65,3d,22,66,61,6c,\
  73,65,22,20,61,72,67,75,6d,65,6e,74,3d,22,30,22,2f,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,63,6f,\
  6e,74,72,6f,6c,20,69,64,51,3d,22,73,69,71,3a,31,39,38,30,34,22,20,76,69,73,\
  69,62,6c,65,3d,22,66,61,6c,73,65,22,20,61,72,67,75,6d,65,6e,74,3d,22,30,22,\
  2f,3e,3c,73,69,71,3a,63,6f,6e,74,72,6f,6c,20,69,64,51,3d,22,73,69,71,3a,31,\
  39,38,30,38,22,20,76,69,73,69,62,6c,65,3d,22,66,61,6c,73,65,22,20,61,72,67,\
  75,6d,65,6e,74,3d,22,30,22,2f,3e,3c,2f,73,69,71,3a,73,68,61,72,65,64,43,6f,\
  6e,74,72,6f,6c,73,3e,3c,2f,73,69,71,3a,71,61,74,3e,3c,2f,73,69,71,3a,72,69,\
  62,62,6f,6e,3e,3c,2f,73,69,71,3a,63,75,73,74,6f,6d,55,49,3e,0d,0a

and converts into a human readable text file either UTF-8, ANSI, LIT or HTML.

Processing this file output.

Yields the following output is with LIT encoding selected.

RegtoText Windows Registry Conversion Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail]
"LinkTest"=[REG_LINK] "\0\0\08\0D\0\"\0SymbolicLinkValue\0\\Registry\\Machine\\Software\\FSLog"
"DisabledScriptsHEX4"=[REG_DWORD] "2147483647"
"DisabledScriptsHEX42000000010 "=[REG_DWORD] "2000000010"
"DisabledScriptsHEX52000000010not"=[REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN] "177485175"
"DisabledScriptsHEX5"=[REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN] "0"
"DisabledScriptsHEX51606664150"=[REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN] "1606664150"
"DisabledScriptsHEX41606664150"=[REG_DWORD] "1606664150"
"DisabledScriptsHEX490AB12CD"=[REG_DWORD] "2427130573"
"DisabledScriptsHEX590AB12CD"=[REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN] "2427130573"
"DisabledScriptsHEX1Test"=[REG_SZ] "GallerySheet\0VersionCue\0VersionCueSDKLoader\0\0"
"DisabledScripts"="[REG_MULTI_SZ] GallerySheet\0VersionCue\0VersionCueSDKLoader\0\0"
"Store Root"=[REG_EXPAND_SZ] "%USERPROFILE%\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows Live Mail\\\0"
"RtlLogOutput"=[REG_DWORD] "1"
"Default User"=[REG_BINARY] ""
"DatabaseVersion"=[REG_DWORD] "18"
"Running"=[REG_DWORD] "0"
"First Calendar Run Done"=[REG_DWORD] "1"
"Migration Attempts"=[REG_DWORD] "1"
"VerStamp"=[REG_DWORD] "0"
"Settings Upgraded"=[REG_DWORD] "17"
"LDAP Server ID"=[REG_DWORD] "3"
"DatabaseCorruptTime"=[REG_BINARY:<SBCSCodePage>] "`·─&▄дк"
"V7StoreMigDone"=[REG_NONE] "01,00,00,00"
"Compact Check Count"=[REG_DWORD] "2"
"LastBackup"=[REG_BINARY:<SBCSCodePage>] "Ý\0\0\0\0\0.\0\t"
"Last Search Index"=[REG_DWORD] "2"
"SearchFolderVersion"=[REG_DWORD] "18"
"SearchFolderLaunchesUntilRebuild"=[REG_DWORD] "4"
"Default LDAP Account"=""account{D8DB2A07-80D5-46F6-B417-75016BA9F207}.oeaccount""
"First Run Done"=[REG_DWORD] "1"
"Mail Is Ready"=[REG_DWORD] "0"
"First Signin Warning"=[REG_DWORD] "7"
"mhtml guid"=""{908DF815-18C6-4AC5-980D-49110B6C5563}""
"RibbonSettingsComposeMailNews"=[REG_BINARY:<ASCII>] @"<siq:customUI xmlns:siq=""http://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2009/ribbon/qat""><siq:ribbon minimized=""false""><siq:qat position=""0""><siq:sharedControls><siq:control idQ=""siq:10704"" visible=""true"" argument=""0""/><siq:control idQ=""siq:10488"" visible=""false"" argument=""0""/><siq:control idQ=""siq:13672"" visible=""false"" argument=""0""/><siq:control idQ=""siq:1043"" visible=""true"" argument=""0""/><siq:control idQ=""siq:1044"" visible=""true"" argument=""0""/><siq:control idQ=""siq:13624"" visible=""true"" argument=""0""/><siq:control idQ=""siq:13656"" visible=""true"" argument=""0""/><siq:control idQ=""siq:13660"" visible=""true"" argument=""0""/></siq:sharedControls></siq:qat></siq:ribbon></siq:customUI>
"
"SpoolerDlgPos"=[REG_BINARY:<Unicode-Literal-Override-Option>] ",\0\0\0\0ɏ\0ĳ\0с\0ǎ\0"
"SpoolerTack"=[REG_DWORD] "0"
"LastRun"=[REG_BINARY:<Unicode-Literal-Override-Option>] "祝䯍Ǎ"
"TotalUpTime"=[REG_DWORD] "4672"
"RibbonSettingsReadNote"=[REG_BINARY:<ASCII>] @"<siq:customUI xmlns:siq=""http://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2009/ribbon/qat""><siq:ribbon minimized=""false""><siq:qat position=""0""><siq:sharedControls><siq:control idQ=""siq:10488"" visible=""true"" argument=""0""/><siq:control idQ=""siq:10600"" visible=""true"" argument=""0""/><siq:control idQ=""siq:10608"" visible=""true"" argument=""0""/><siq:control idQ=""siq:10496"" visible=""false"" argument=""0""/><siq:control idQ=""siq:19804"" visible=""false"" argument=""0""/><siq:control idQ=""siq:19808"" visible=""false"" argument=""0""/></siq:sharedControls></siq:qat></siq:ribbon></siq:customUI>
"

The following output is with HTML encoding selected.

RegtoText Windows Registry HTML Entity Encoded Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail]
"LinkTest"=[REG_LINK] 8D"SymbolicLinkValue\Registry\Machine\Software\FSLog
"DisabledScriptsHEX4"=[REG_DWORD] 2147483647
"DisabledScriptsHEX42000000010 "=[REG_DWORD] 2000000010
"DisabledScriptsHEX52000000010not"=[REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN] 177485175
"DisabledScriptsHEX5"=[REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN] 0
"DisabledScriptsHEX51606664150"=[REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN] 1606664150
"DisabledScriptsHEX41606664150"=[REG_DWORD] 1606664150
"DisabledScriptsHEX490AB12CD"=[REG_DWORD] 2427130573
"DisabledScriptsHEX590AB12CD"=[REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN] 2427130573
"DisabledScriptsHEX1Test"=[REG_SZ] GallerySheetVersionCueVersionCueSDKLoader
"DisabledScripts"=[REG_MULTI_SZ] GallerySheetVersionCueVersionCueSDKLoader
"Store Root"=[REG_EXPAND_SZ] %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail\
"RtlLogOutput"=[REG_DWORD] 1
"Default User"=[REG_BINARY] 
"DatabaseVersion"=[REG_DWORD] 18
"Running"=[REG_DWORD] 0
"First Calendar Run Done"=[REG_DWORD] 1
"Migration Attempts"=[REG_DWORD] 1
"VerStamp"=[REG_DWORD] 0
"Settings Upgraded"=[REG_DWORD] 17
"LDAP Server ID"=[REG_DWORD] 3
"DatabaseCorruptTime"=[REG_BINARY:] `·─&▄дк
"V7StoreMigDone"=[REG_NONE] 01,00,00,00
"Compact Check Count"=[REG_DWORD] 2
"LastBackup"=[REG_BINARY:] Ý.	
"Last Search Index"=[REG_DWORD] 2
"SearchFolderVersion"=[REG_DWORD] 18
"SearchFolderLaunchesUntilRebuild"=[REG_DWORD] 4
"Default LDAP Account"="account{D8DB2A07-80D5-46F6-B417-75016BA9F207}.oeaccount"
"First Run Done"=[REG_DWORD] 1
"Mail Is Ready"=[REG_DWORD] 0
"First Signin Warning"=[REG_DWORD] 7
"mhtml guid"="{908DF815-18C6-4AC5-980D-49110B6C5563}"
"RibbonSettingsComposeMailNews"=[REG_BINARY:] 

"SpoolerDlgPos"=[REG_BINARY:] ,&xFFFF;&xFFFF;&xFFFF;&xFFFF;&xFFFF;&xFFFF;&xFFFF;&xFFFF;ɏĳсǎ
"SpoolerTack"=[REG_DWORD] 0
"LastRun"=[REG_BINARY:] 祝䯍&xE925;Ǎ
"TotalUpTime"=[REG_DWORD] 4672
"RibbonSettingsReadNote"=[REG_BINARY:]

Yeah, that's right all in one tool.
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RegtoTextPro Help

.FILENAME
RegToTextPro.exe - Request a for license use contact form.

.VERSION
Version 5.2019.4003.488+ (Update Jan, 2025)

.SYNOPSIS
Parses a valid Windows registry exported file (.reg) and translates indecipherable hexadecimal values into a human readable text file.

.PURPOSE

The aim of this command-line executable is to make a human readable export registry file. This greatly aids in searching and understanding malware that lives in the Windows Registry. Antivirus software does not clean up registry entries. You manually have to do it.

Quick Tip! Backup your registry often and get a snapshot differential comparer like https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/registry_changes_view.html to understand changes to the registry.

.DESCRIPTION

RegToTextPro windows console application deciphers unreadable portions of registry file to text. Firstly, it checks for a valid Windows registry file ending with file extension (.reg). Then it validates file header for ""Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00"" for Windows 2000, ME, XP,7, Vista, 8, 8.1, 10+, Server 2003+ or ""REGEDIT4"" for Windows 98, NT 4.0 and Server 2000-. Passing this, the process will begin to translates all the hexadecimal and decimal values into output Unicode text file. Output is written out in 250 line chunks. Upon premature or cancellation, output file will contain up-to the last chunk written out. Output encoding can be ASCII, UTF-8, HTML or LIT. LIT is short for literal, where Unicode control characters are escaped and appear as verbatim C-Sharp string in memory. HTML is short for HTML Encoding, in which most non-printable characters are HTML Entity encoded (no loss of fidelity). Most non-printable characters are cleansed for ASCII, read ENCODING notes for details. Encoding choice can drastically affect file output size and scroll-ability in text programs.

These are all the windows registry types that appear in .reg file are translated;

"value" alias hex(1)	Default or blank	String value data with escape characters
hex alias hex(3)	REG_BINARY	Binary data (any arbitrary data, override interpolated by /e, if not found by Mozilla Universal Charset Detector library)
dword alias hex(4)	REG_DWORD	A 32-bit unsigned integer coded in little-endian format
hex(0)	REG_NONE	No type (the stored value, if any)
hex(1)	REG_SZ	A string value, normally stored and exposed in UTF-16LE (when using the Unicode version of Win32 API functions), usually terminated by a NUL character
hex(2)	EXPAND_SZ	An “expandable” string value that can contain environment variables, normally stored and exposed in UTF-16LE, usually terminated by a NUL character
hex(3)	REG_BINARY	Binary data (any arbitrary data, override interpolated by /e, if not found by Mozilla Universal Charset Detector library)
hex(4)	REG_DWORD_LITTLE_ENDIAN equivalent to REG_DWORD	A 32-bit unsigned integer coded in little-endian format
hex(5)	REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN	A 32-bit unsigned integer coded in big-endian format
hex(6)	REG_LINK	A symbolic link (UNICODE) to another Registry key, specifying a root key and the path to the target key
hex(7)	REG_MULTI_SZ	A multi-string value, which is an ordered list of non-empty strings, normally stored and exposed in UTF-16LE, each one terminated by a NUL character, the list being normally terminated by a second NUL character.
hex(8)	REG_RESOURCE_LIST	A resource list, as specified https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/ddi/wdm/ns-wdm-_cm_resource_list
hex(9)	REG_FULL_RESOURCE_DESCRIPTOR	A resource descriptor, as specified https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/ddi/wdm/ns-wdm-_cm_full_resource_descriptor
hex(a)	REG_RESOURCE_REQUIREMENTS_LIST	A resource requirements list, as specified https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/ddi/wdm/ns-wdm-_io_resource_requirements_list
hex(b)	REG_QWORD_LITTLE_ENDIAN equivalent to REG_QWORD	A 64-bit integer little-endian (introduced in Windows XP)

Distribution of these values is listed in my article on this here.

.LIMITATIONS

Does not decode hex(8): REG_RESOURCE_LIST - A resource list (but a separate tool is available for additional fee, just ask).
Does not decode hex(9): REG_FULL_RESOURCE_DESCRIPTOR - A resource descriptor
Does not decode hex(a): REG_RESOURCE_REQUIREMENTS_LIST - A resource requirements list

Does not decode Darwin Descriptors some of the time, use this tool in those cases. Does not unpack packed GUIDs, perhaps in future enterprise version (separate tool available for fee).

Does not ROT-13 decode the UserAssist key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\UserAssist (separate tool
available for fee).

DOES NOT DECODE THESE values

~~hex(8)~~	~~REG_RESOURCE_LIST~~	A series of nested arrays. It stores a resource list used by a device driver or a hardware device controlled by that driver. The system writes detected data to the \ResourceMap tree. In the editor, this data is displayed as a binary value in a hexadecimal format.
hex(9)	REG_FULL_RESOURCE_DESCRIPTOR	A series of nested arrays. It stores a resource list that is used by a hardware device. The system writes detected data to the \HardwareDescription tree. In the editor, this data is displayed as a binary value in a hexadecimal format.
hex(a)	REG_RESOURCE_REQUIREMENTS_LIST	A series of nested arrays. It is used to store a list of hardware drivers which can be used by a particular device driver or a hardware device controlled by that driver. The system writes part of the list to the \ResourceMap tree. Data is defined by the system. In the editor, data is displayed as a binary parameter in a hexadecimal format

To decode REG_RESOURCE_LIST I have a separate tool to decode this properly, as a separate tool available for an additional fee.

hex(8)

REG_RESOURCE_LIST

A resource list

.REQUIREMENTS
32-bit app which requires .NET Framework 4 Client Profile.

.64 BIT REGISTRY KEYS
The registry in 64-bit versions of Windows is divided into 32-bit and 64-bit keys. Many of the 32-bit keys have the same names as their 64-bit counterparts, and vice versa.
To open registry 64bit version run %systemroot%\syswow64\regedit from CMD as Admin.

Refer to https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/kb/305097 to extract 64-bit keys to .reg file. RegtoText decodes 64-bit keys as 32-bit keys. There is no difference.

.HIDDEN REGISTRY KEYS - SECURITY & SAM
Some of the security and core system related keys are hidden from user even when part of an administrator group cannot see these special keys.

Here are some of the such hidden registry keys

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SECURITY
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SAM

SECURITY registry key stores all the system policy and LSA secrets related information. SAM registry key has details for user accounts along with LM/NTLM password hashes for each user.

There are many ways we can view these hidden registry keys. We can use psexec.exe tool (part of pstools package from sysinternals) to launch the regedit.exe as system account as shown below.
psexec.exe -s -i regedit.exe

.ENCODING

There are 5 output encoding options ASCII, UTF8, UNI, LIT and HTML.

For ASCII, controls characters are stripped for ASCII encoding and characters outside this ASCII range are replaces with question mark (?) for readability. This is a good choice for large number of keys to be processed. For UTF8 all control characters are preserved, but note, string terminator character '\0' is used frequently for other purposes in registry. UNI is short for Unicode (UTF-16). LIT short for literal, in which escapes Unicode control characters are preserved and encoded. It uses the programs software language (C Sharp) own internal representation of a string and outputs this value. HTML is short for HTML Encoding option. When this option is used all non-printable characters (except CR, LF and tab) are HTML Entity encoded preserving the fidelity of the original registry value. This also has added benefit that is quite fast to render in a browser and is good very large files (>1G). Additionally, the output file name gets an '.html' file extension.

.TEXT EDITORS
Notepad and Notepad++ will not load 1 G+ files. Textpad (memory lim), Notepad Light (upto 2G) and UltraEdit (claims 2^64-1G) will load file over 1G+ files.

.PERFORMANCE
Tested on 4.25M rows in 18 mins, 24 secs. Processing 921,572 subkeys and 2,344,590 key/value pairs.

.USAGE
RegToTextPro [/h] [/v] [/s] inputfile.reg [/o:filename.txt] [/e:{ANSI|UTF8|LIT|HTML}]

.ARGUMENTS
[drive:][path]inputfile.reg 1st argument required
Input registry file. If path omitted, default to current path.
.FLAGS
(order not important)
/h|/help Help
/v|/version Version
/s|/silent Silent
/l|/license License
/e|/encoding:{ANSI|UTF8|LIT|HTML} Output encoding. If omitted, default value:'UTF8'.

/o|/output:[drive:][path]filename.txt Output text file. If omitted, default value:'inputfile.txt

.INPUT
Must be valid exported registry file from REGEDIT.exe ending in .reg

.OUTPUT
If output file is not specified, a Unicode text file ending in .txt extension will be created. If exists prompt to delete ? No, creates a timestamped file. Hexadecimal and decimal values are decoded using according /e flag.
If output file ends with .html, a '<br>' tag will be added to the end of each line, when using encoding /e:HTML.

.EXAMPLE
regtotextpro c:\Users\MDC\Documents\myfullregistryBCK.reg /e:ANSI

.AUTHOR
metadataconsult@gmail.com

.LICENSE
Read Full License Agreement use /l FLAG OR pipe into a text file using 'regtotext /l > RTTLic.txt' to read in Notepad.

Purchasing a License

Request a REGTOTEXTPRO Demo Version 5 (updated Jan 10. 2025) from contact form below.

ADDITIONAL TOOLS

List Registry Links Tool will list all REG_LINK value types in a better way get it here.
Decoding Darwin Descriptors, get tool here.

Example Run on a Large Hive

Commercial version sample run on a new Windows 10 Pro install with Office 2016.

RegToText - Registry to Text Utility

Friday, January 10, 2025

RegToTextPro v5 - is a command line utility that converts registry values into human readable text

RegtoTextPro Version 5

Example Run on a Large Hive

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