Apparatus and method of managing hidden area

摘要

Provided is a method of hiding a specified directory with no effect on compatibility with an existing file system (50). According to an aspect of the invention, an apparatus (100) for managing a hidden area (58) includes a hidden area generation unit (110) which sets a portion of the data area (55) as a hidden area (58) and records meta data (59) for the set hidden area (58), a hidden area release unit (120) which moves a directory entry of a root directory of the hidden area (58) into the directory entry area (13) and returns a cluster recorded with the meta data to release the set hidden area (58), and an access control unit (150) which controls an access to the hidden area (58) when the hidden area (58) is set.