Re: decrypt help...

In news:OiERBFfSFHA.3156@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
kevin <kohoran@xxxxxxxxx> did some thinking and came up with these words:
> richard:
>
> i've been told (and read) that i did this backwards, and if i could
> go back and do it over, i would. but i've also been told (and read)
> that as long as i have access to the certificate/key, then i still
> have the ability to decrypt the files. i thought i had deleted the
> certificate/key combo completely, but, as noted, was able to recover
> it from the recycler folder and import it to my current user account.
> what i'm trying to find now is how -- if at all -- to use that
> certificate/key combo to open the files. that is, knowing the
> user-account name under which that cert/key was used to encrypt the
> files, can i recreate that account, import the cert/key and then open
> the files? or, can i somehow add my current user-account to the list
> of people with access to that cert/key?
> in other words, i'm trying to figure out the steps to decrypting
> files when the cert/key combo has been saved but the user account
> scrapped. it would seem, from what i've read, that i should be able
> to decrypt the files as long as i still have access to the cert/key
> combo, which i do.
> thanks,
> kevin
>
> aka "cranky" (hey, i've got a teething toddler at home who just
> learned to say "no". what can i say?)
>
>
> "Richard Urban" <richardurbanREMOVETHIS@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:ek37Z3dSFHA.2424@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> No, you have it backwards. You create the recovery agent "before"
>> you have problems working with encrypted files - not after you
>> experience trouble. And loading/reloading an operating system will
>> likely cause problems. I am afraid that those files are no longer
>> viable or usable. There is NO backdoor to the files.
>>
>> --
>> Regards,
>>
>> Richard Urban
>>
>> aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard :-)
>>
>> If you knew as much as you think you know,
>> You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
>>
>>
>> "kevin" <kohoran@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:OMePlidSFHA.252@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> sorry if this has been asked (repeatedly?), but running into a
>>> problem decrypting some files and i'm seeking help.
>>>
>>> the details: i'm running xp pro 32-bit edition on a compaq
>>> athlon64. i installed the customer preview version of xp pro 64bit,
>>> but in doing so, i changed my user name and deleted the old
>>> user-name account. the problem, of course, is that i had encrypted
>>> some files with that old user account. i've created a recovery
>>> agent since, and have located (i think) the old certificate and key
>>> in the recycler folder. i've tried importing the certificate (with
>>> the system telling me it has imported it, and showing it as
>>> available to the user-named account i had deleted). but i still
>>> can't access the files. the question: how do i use the "old" certificate
>>> and key combo to
>>> unlock/decrypt the files, since i've already deleted the old user
>>> account? i had thought i could just import the cert/key into my
>>> current admin-privilege account and, voila, open the files. no such
>>> luck. i still get the "access denied" error message.
>>>
>>> thanks for any help, and, again, sorry if this has been posted to
>>> death. kevin

The 'cert' ties in with user and system as well as the files. It is such a
slippery slope that most stay as far away from encryption as possible. From
the sounds of it - you have been given the opportunity to learn this the
hard way. Do you perhaps have a good system backup/image where you can
restore the previous version and regain control of your files?

--
Ron Bogart {} ô¿ô¬
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Lovin life on Mercer Island 8^)
"Life is what happens while we are making other plans."
In memory of a true friend, MVP Alex Nichol (1935-2005)


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