.NFO File Extension

Plain text file that includes information about a pirated software program (warez); contains release notes and commonly includes information about the piracy group responsible for distributing the warez; generally included as part of the program and related files; first used in the late 1980s by a cracking group named The Humble Guys (THG).

NFO files often contain ASCII art identifying the piracy group. NFO readers such as NFOPad can render the text characters as the intended graphic. For standard text editors, it's generally best to view the text with a fixed width font.

NOTE: Since Microsoft Windows' System Information tool also uses the ".nfo" file extension, Windows may unsuccessfully try to open NFO files in the System Information viewer. Instead, open the files directly in a text editor or an NFO viewer.

Data file used by Microsoft's System Information tool, a Windows software utility for gathering system information and for diagnosing problems; stores information gathered by the program.

The System Information program has the filename Msinfo32.exe.

File created by Age of Empires, a real-time strategy (RTS) game where players control units and build empires; contains the player name and campaign progress; saves the player profile and in-game progress.

File used by Folio Views, a program used for viewing help documentation; contains indexes, articles, and other help documentation; used to create searchable documentation for customer support and program installations.

Folio Views, once owned by Folio Corporation, was subsequently sold to NextPage, FAST, Microsoft, and lastly to The FIEN Group under the name Rocket Folio Views.