Simple way to guard against casual snooping of a text file?

I have a text file that I want to be able to guard against casual snooping (i.e., the user would get nothing or junk if they tried to open in Notepad for example). I had heard of a trick years ago where one would make the EOF character the first character of the file. I tried this and the only context this worked in was when I tried to view the file using the DOS TYPE command (it showed nothing). Opening it in Notepad showed the full contents, along with a black square at the beginning (the graphical representation of the EOF character (Chr(26)). I was also able to view the contents using the DOS EDIT program.

So is there a way I can do this, or will I have to resort to encryption (not a big deal, but I'd rather use a little "trick" like the one I described)?

Encryption is easiest. To prevent against casual encryption, you can use the free DevPower Encrypt. http://www.devpower.com/

The string encryption AX control available from the site you recommended looks like it will do the trick. Thanks.