PC Help Jansant - Encrypting File System Guide
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Using Encryption on Windows 2000
Encrypting File System (EFS) on Windows 2000 allows you to encrypt files
on NTFS partitions without the need for third party software, stopping
others from reading the data in the files even if the have NTFS permissions
to the file or folder. By default EFS uses a 64-bit encryption, a 128-bit
encryption package called CryptoPAK is available from Microsoft which
offers even greater security.
EFS is available only on NTFS partitions, not on FAT partitions. To determine
what file system is in use, open the Control Panel, double click Administrative
Tools, expand Storage and select Disk Management. All your system partitions/drives
and the file system in use will be list here. Alternatively you can right
click the drive, select Properties, and select the General tab. The file
system in use on the partition/drive is also listed here. You can encrypt
both files and folders.
Access to encrypted files is slower than access to unencrypted files.
It's important to note that you can not use both encryption and compression
on the same file. Access to the encrypted file by the user who encrypted
it is transparent. No other users will be able to open the file or will
open as garbage. EFS uses a public/private key encryption scheme. If a
user looses their private key or certificate, a designated Encryption
Recovery Agent (usually the administrator) can decrypt the file.
To encrypt a file or folder right click the object in Explorer and select
properties, select Advanced from the Attributes area of the Properties
sheet, tick Encrypt contents to secure data, click OK. When you view the
object in Windows Explorer in the attributes area it will be listed as
encrypted. You can not encrypt and compress a file or folder at the same
time.
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