Xp/nfts

[TCH-Thomas]

As I understand it, in XP if using NTFS I am supposed to be able to use some built in password protection, correct?

 

To the mods: I wasnt sure if this was a software or operating systems question, so feel free to move.

Edited July 30, 2004 by Jikrantz

[Madmanmcp]

Thomas, NTFS adds security to your file system. You can then set this security down to the individual folder level or as high as the drive level. You do this by setting up user accounts and groups and permissions.

 

For instance there is a default user called admin which has full access to everything because it is in the admin group. You can then create an account for some one and call it Thomas and create a group called resticted and put this user in it. Next you would go to the file or folder you want and set the permissions you want this group to have. Now when "Thomas" logs into the computer that user will only have access to the files and folders you have setup for it to use.

 

There is other work that needs to be done for this system to work (like deleting the "everyone" group). You can also just set pass words on folders, but this is more work if a lot of folders an files need to be accessed. Granting access to groups or placing groups within groups makes this an easier task.

[borfast]

Well, I guess it's more an Operating Systems question, so I'll move it to that forum

 

About your question, I'm not sure what kind of password protection you mean but NTFS does allow some protection schemes that FAT doesn't. What exactly are you trying to do?

 

Edit: Oops, BoB was faster than me

Edited July 30, 2004 by TCH-Raul

[Madmanmcp]

Just a little faster Raul

 

I was also confused on what he was looking for and decided to explain the basics about NTFS and hope this gives him the answer he is looking for.

[TCH-Thomas]

You do this by setting up user accounts and groups and permissions.

I thought I could do that with fat32 too?

 

About confusion... I was confused too when writing the original post cause I had understood it as if I could right click on blahblah.doc in explorer and password protect it.

 

By the way... Thanks guys

[ThumpAZ]

Password protection for MS Office or other types of files are at the application level (Word in your example), not at the operating system level, where you would protect entire folders.

 

In all FAT and NTFS system storage schema, you can have applications or individual files that will not open without a password. It is only in NTFS that natively allows for the protection (based on username and password, or other authentication procedures) of entire folders and directories, all the way to the complete partition or drive.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited July 30, 2004 by TCH-Glenn

[TCH-Thomas]

Ok, thanks Glenn.

 

The doc-extension was just an example.

[Madmanmcp]

Thomas, at this point I believe you need to give a little more background and information for what you are trying to do or want to do.

 

Why do you want to password protect a word document file (your example). Security is a complicated to understand and difficult to implement at times, and at other times totally unnecessary.

 

For instance, maybe you have a word document which has personal information in it and you don't want anyone on the internet to get access to it and read it. You are thinking, hey, if I password protect the file its secure. That may be true but totally off the mark. If your computer is secure, you have a firewall and none of your drives or folders are "shared", noone from the internet will have access to the file and will never be able to get to it in the first place. The only way to get access is to be sitting at your computer.

 

Now if this is what you are worried about, someone sitting at your computer and accessing this file, then you need to just secure your computer a little. Require a "user" to logon and supply their password and then set these users up with permissions. You then allow access to the folders where your special files are and only allow access for yourself.

[TCH-Thomas]

There is no more background to tell.

All is that I once read (dont know where) that I with using NTFS could assign passwords to what ever files I want through explorer. Its not a big deal.

 

And about my example extension doc, I could have given doc, jpg, exe etc as example. It was not about a specific filetype.

[TCH-Thomas]

Here is what I ment http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/learnmore/tips/knox1.mspx

Unfortunately I missunderstood I think. I thought it was about passowrd protecting it when I read about it in the help section in the swedish version.

 

Thanks anyway everyone