Nosey Children

[PondLifeMan]

Hello all

I have 3 very curious children and I would like to hide some files fom them on my PC.

Nothing X rated......... Just a few records of savings, shares and other stuff like that.

I have Win XP Pro and have my wifes desktop passworded. however, the kids have been looking around on windows explorer and have found some of these records which have now popped up in conversation with friends at school.

Is there a way of locking whole folders like you used to be able to do in Win 3.1??

Thanks

PLM

[ORAC]

XP Pro has the same file security as NT and Win 2K, it allows you to control access at both the file and folder level. It's very powerful and there are many wrinkles, but this should cover what you want to know. Access Control (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/security/accesscontrol.asp)

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

PondLifeMan,

The simple way it to right click in Windows Explorer on the folder, with the files, and go to Properties. In there put a checkmark on Hidden.

Then on the top bar of Windows Explorer, Tools >> Folder Options >> View:

And put a checkmark in Do not show hidden folders and files. That will keep the files hidden. When you need to access the files, just go back in to Tools >> Folder Options >> View:

And put a checkmark in Show hidden files and folders.

That way the files will not show when your little Jr. Hackers search the computer. :ok:

Take Care,

Richard

[fobotcso]

I would also suggest that you give them their own User Accounts with limited privileges. That way they won't be able to undo the good work you will have done.

BTW, all this info is on your own Hard disk, of course, and can be found from Help and Support.

You may not find the Sharing tab when you right click on Properties. This will be because you have a tick in the box for "Use Simple File Sharing(Recommended)" in the Tools>Folder Options>View page of Windows Explorer.

[Dr. Bunsen Honeydew]

You can encrypt any files or folders so they will only be useable when you are logged on by right clicking on the appropriate file/ folder and choosing advanced/ encrypt.

A quick search on windows XP help for "encrypt" shows the ins and outs of it:




"Encrypting File System overview
Encrypting File System (EFS) provides the core file encryption technology used to store encrypted files on NTFS file system volumes. Once you encrypt a file or folder, you work with the encrypted file or folder just as you do with any other files and folders.

Encryption is transparent to the user that encrypted the file. This means that you do not have to manually decrypt the encrypted file before you can use it. You can open and change the file as you normally do.

Using EFS is similar to using permissions on files and folders. Both methods can be used to restrict access to data. However, an intruder who gains unauthorized physical access to your encrypted files or folders will be prevented from reading them. If the intruder tries to open or copy your encrypted file or folder he receives an access denied message. Permissions on files and folders do not protect against unauthorized physical attacks.

You encrypt or decrypt a folder or file by setting the encryption property for folders and files just as you set any other attribute such as read-only, compressed, or hidden. If you encrypt a folder, all files and subfolders created in the encrypted folder are automatically encrypted. It is recommended that you encrypt at the folder level.


When you work with encrypted files and folders, keep in mind the following information:

Only files and folders on NTFS volumes can be encrypted. Because WebDAV works with NTFS, NTFS is required when encrypting files over WebDAV.
Files or folders that are compressed cannot also be encrypted. If the user marks a file or folder for encryption, that file or folder will be uncompressed.
Encrypted files can become decrypted if you copy or move the file to a volume that is not an NTFS volume.
Moving unencrypted files into an encrypted folder will automatically encrypt those files in the new folder. However, the reverse operation will not automatically decrypt files. Files must be explicitly decrypted"........ etc.

You do need an ntfs formatted hard drive, but it's something worth trying.

[Saab Dastard]

PLM,

I'm running WinXP Pro on one system and like you I've got a couple of children. I have created accounts for each family member, the children are "Users", the adults are "Power Users". None are administrators. In fact I have renamed the adminstrator account (work habit).

This way the boys can do little damage and can't install / delete programs - even I do not have system-level access just in case I tread carelessly on the internet. I use the admin account only when needed.

Again, I have created some folders to which only I have access, using NTFS security. If you want to grant access to more than one person you can either create a local group, add users to it and assign access rights to the group, or explicitly grant access to each user individually.

Note the difference between sharing and security - sharing is really about making a resource visible over a network, while security is about what access rights users have to the resource. On a single system you can ignore sharing.

Using NTFS security to control access to folders and files is all you should need - unless your children are going to spend time cracking your passwords or hacking the SAM (Security Access Management) database and resetting the admin password. Actually, that is laughably easy, so maybe you should look at encryption as well!

SD