Re: Enable "Encrypt contents to secure data" option in Windows Explore

M8RIX wrote:
Sorry I missed the XP "Home" part......

Windows XP home users:
1.. Select the folder you wish to encrypt.
2.. Right-click the folder and click Properties.
3.. Click the Sharing tab.
4.. Check the box Make this folder private
5.. Click Apply and then Ok.

Make this folder private is grayed out?

In order for this option to work in Microsoft Windows XP home you must meet the below requirements.

1) The hard disk drive must be formatted in NTFS and not FAT32.

2) The folder you're attempting to encrypt must be in your own personal folder. For example, if your name is bob, you must be encrypting a folder that is or that is contained within the below folder:

C:\Documents and Settings\Bob\

"P Mathis" <PMathis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:0479AD80-142A-4661-86B1-D45768BB0F3D@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In Windows Explorer (Home Edition) if I select a file / folder

1) Right click then select Properties
2) On General Tab, Click Advanced
3) "Encrypt contents to secure data" is not Enabled

I want to enable this feature in my Windows Explorer. Please help me enable
this feature.



"Private" isn't the same as "encrypted." The EFS [Encrypting File System] feature is not included in Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition.

There are good reasons for this. One reason is that encrypting files with Windows EFS is very dangerous. If you are not careful, you can easily irretrievably lose your data.

If you are determined that you want to encrypt things (rather than relying on NTFS permissions to restrict access), then use something a bit less wrapped up in the operating system, such as free PGP: http://www.pgpi.org/ or one of the other free encryption utilities:
http://www.thefreecountry.com/security/encryption.shtml

Don't encrypt your entire disk. And the disclaimer on the page linked above applies here as well:
Disclaimer
The information provided on this page comes without any warranty whatsoever. Use it at your own risk. Just because a program, book or service is listed here or has a good review does not mean that I endorse or approve of the program or of any of its contents. All the other standard disclaimers also apply.


--
Lem MS MVP -- Networking

To the moon and back with 64 Kbits of RAM and 512 Kbits of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
.

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