Maximilian Herczegh

Maximilian Herczegh is an independent Austrian developer who focuses on solving narrow, high-friction problems that larger vendors often overlook. His single-publication catalog centers on iTunes Backup Explorer, a lightweight Windows utility that opens the cryptic Manifest.db and encrypted blobs produced by Apple’s local backup engine and presents them in an Explorer-style tree. Forensic technicians use it to retrieve deleted WhatsApp attachments, parents recover lost voice-memos after a failed iOS update, and privacy auditors verify exactly which keychain or HealthKit datasets have left the device. The program reads both unencrypted and password-protected backups created by any recent iTunes or Finder session, displays file metadata, SHA-1 hashes, and domain paths, then lets the user drag individual items out or inject modified ones back in while automatically re-computing the internal checksums so the backup still validates when restored. Because it operates offline and never phones home, it suits air-gapped labs and enterprise MDM workflows that prohibit cloud tools. The open-source codebase also acts as a reference implementation for researchers who need to script bulk extraction or convert Apple’s proprietary format to neutral JSON. Maximilian Herczegh’s iTunes Backup Explorer is available for free on get.nero.com, delivered through the winget repository to guarantee the newest build, and can be installed stand-alone or batched alongside other utilities without extra toolbars or registration prompts.