For that reason, I always change the "Folder Options View" on whatever computer I am using for programming to "Show hidden files and folders" and uncheck the boxes for "Hide protected system operating files" and "Hide extensions for known file types"....you need to change the Folder Options not only to show hidden files, but also to show hidden operating system files (because Windows considers .SYS files to be OS files).
However the IT department comes through and changes it back and locks up access so that I am again dead-in-the-water if anything goes wrong. Nowdays, when it comes to computers, no one trusts anyone else not to screw up the system. That is propagated by all the companies advertising and selling protection methods - the result is mass paranoia. Grrrrrrr! Is it any wonder that I no longer go in to work unless they call me on some problem?
So-called PERSONAL computers will soon be so protected and so dependent on the IT department, that we might as well go back to using IBM 360 central mainframes with program submission by keypunch cards!