does anybody know of a program that can tell if files or contents of files have changed ? free is preferred but i do t mind paying if its worth it
Yes, I know: ADinf32. But it can only tell if a file was changed (changed, deleted, added). It can not tell what was changed inside a file (like for example some words were changed in a text file); it tells only that the file was changed, then it is up to the user to look further. A program like BeyondCompare might tell you what was changed inside a file (by comparing old and new version if you still have the old version). Thread ADinf32 : https://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/adinf32-version-4-19-08-feb-2015.375574/ Thread BeyondCompare : https://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/beyond-compare.410603/ But since the very sad war in Ukraine you can only buy ADinf32 via Russia. But we cannot discuss politics on this board. Enough said. In the past there were other so-called file-integrity-checkers like ADinf32 but I don't know at the moment if they still exist (and if they do, they might be expensive ...).
You might also "do it yourself": Use Karen's Directory Printer https://www.karenware.com/powertools/karens-directory-printer Using it for your whole C-drive might be too much. But you didn't say what kind of file(s) you are interested in. Save the result in a text file, let's say X.txt Do the same the next time, save it (let's say) as Y.txt Then use a comparing tool (for example BeyondCompare) to compare X.txt and Y.txt. And there is your result.