Compressed file encoded as binary or MacBinary; commonly used for transferring Macintosh files over the Internet; ensures the Macintosh resource fork and data fork are kept in one file.

Disc image created from an optical disc; stores the binary data copied from a CD or DVD; can be mounted by the computer and recognized as a physical disc; similar to the standard .ISO disc image format.

BIN files are often saved with other metadata files that describe the disc contents. For example, they are often saved with a .CUE file that describes the ordering of data in the binary image.

If a BIN file will not open, it may be opened by some disk utilities by changing the extension from ".bin" to ".iso."

Program, or compiled binary file, that can be run on a Unix operating system, such as Linux or FreeBSD; may be run from the command line by typing "[filename].bin," where [filename] is the name of the executable file.

Game ROM of a Sega Genesis video game; stores the data from a Sega Genesis cartridge in a single data file; can be played on a PC using a Genesis emulation program.

Sega Genesis ROMs also use the .SMD file extension.

File that stores data in a binary format; different than a text-based file, which can be edited in a text editor; may be created by a variety of different programs; typically cannot be manually edited.

Disk images are typically binary files, though they often use other file extensions. BIN files may also be used for firmware updaters.