strings(1)
NAME
strings − find the printable strings in a object, or other binary, file
SYNTAX
strings [ − ] [ −o ] [ −number ] file ...
DESCRIPTION
The strings command looks for ascii strings in a binary file. A string is any sequence of 4 or more printing characters ending with a newline or a null. Unless the − flag is given, strings only looks in the initialized data space of object files. If the −o flag is given, then each string is preceded by its offset in the file (in octal). If the −number flag is given then number is used as the minimum string length rather than 4.
The strings command is useful for identifying random object files and many other things.