But before that, for convenience purposes, always restore the backed up certificate first before starting to encrypt data on a new account. The new account will then continues to use the backed up certificate for encryption and prevent Windows XP from generating a new account’s certificate for new encryption. As a result, you don’t need to back up this new certificate as well (if not, you’d have two certificates to back up).

http://img30.exs.cx/img30/9013/EFS_02.png If you’re using Windows 2000 or Windows XP Professional and your disk is formatted with NTFS you can use the system’s built-in encryption to keep others from reading your files, even the System Administrator. This way, you can protect your sensitive data.

http://img120.exs.cx/img120/9128/EFS_01.png Notice that the encrypted file will be in %color=green% green color %% (Compressed file is in blue). If users form other login accounts tried to open it - the Access is denied window will shows up (as displayed above). In this case, Notepad failed to open the file.

However, keep in mind that others would still be able to alter the file (not the content of course). It means they can search for the file, delete or move them to another folder, etc. The encrypted files or data in the encrypted folder are still visible to others but they cannot access them (to open the file or to read the content). It is nearly impossible to crack the encryption. If you would like to disable others from entering your folders or directories without permission, then the Folder Permissions? would need to be set. But that’s another topic. Taken from “ShowNotes10”. Edited & added.

² The above screenshots of a Wikipedia:Copyrights copyrighted computer program were distributed under Wikipedia:Fair_use fair use provision of Wikipedia:United_States_copyright_law United States copyright law.

• Wikipedia:EFS

¹ Screenshots used in this article were taken using http://www.techsmith.com/products/snagit/default.asp TechSmith SnagIt 7. Images were later converted to 8-bit, 128-colors, .PNG format, using http://www.macromedia.com/software/fireworks/ Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004 to further reduce the size.

² The above screenshots of a Wikipedia:Copyrights copyrighted computer program were distributed under wikipedia:Fair_use fair use? provision of Wikipedia:United_States_copyright_law United States copyright law.

This is my first article at Leoville.tv. Pardon me should there be any grammatical/typo error(s) in the writting (english is not my first language). Corrections/Edits/Additions are most welcome. Thanks. —{{~Kalic}}

cellnrBelow? is a .gif generated slideshow (remember to enable browser’s animation, if you can’t see it). Just follow it step-by-step.
cellnrhttp?://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_Import.gif

cellnrYou? should see the confirmation window when the certificate is successfully imported. Done!

Backing up files is a good habit for all computer users. More importantly, is to backup your encryption certificate(s) or key(s), if you have ever encrypted data in your system. A unique certificate associates with your account was created and stored in the account the first time data were encrypted. Although users may not realized this, since users always login to thier own accounts to open encrypted files, that unique encryption certificate is needed to authenticate that the user has the right to access or decrypt those data.

Backing up files is a good habit for all computer users. More importantly, is to backup your encryption certificate(s) or key(s), if you ever have encrypted data in your system. A unique certificate associates with your account was created and stored in the account the first time data were encrypted. Although users may not realized this, since users always login to thier own accounts to open encrypted files, that unique encryption certificate is needed to authenticate that the user has the right to access or decrypt those data.

But before that, for convenience purposes, always restore the backed up certificate first before starting to encrypt data on a new account. The new account will then continues to use the backed up certificate for encryption and prevent Windows XP from generating a new account’s certificate for new encryption. As a result, you don’t need to back up this new certificate as well (you’d have two certificates now).

Under construction. Edits/Additions are most welcome. —{{~Kalic}}

After reinstalling your system or you would like to associate the backed up certificate to a new account, then the backed up certificate would need to be restored. It is pretty straight forward to do so.

¹ Screenshots used in this article were taken using http://www.techsmith.com/products/snagit/default.asp TechSmith SnagIt 7. Images were later converted to 8-bit, 128-colors, .PNG format, using http://www.macromedia.com/software/fireworks/ Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004 to further reduce the size.

² The above screenshots of a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights copyrighted computer program were distributed under http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use fair use provision of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_copyright_law United States copyright law.

However, keep in mind that others would still be able to alter the file (not the content of course). It means they can search for the file, delete or move them to another folder, etc. The encrypted files or data in the encrypted folder are still visible to others but they cannot access them (to open the file or to read the content). It is nearly impossible to crack the encryption. If you would like to disable others from entering your folders or directories without permission, then the folder’s Security features has to set. But that’s another topic. Taken from “ShowNotes10”. Edited & added.

Begin by right-clicking on the folder/file to encrypt, select “Properties…” from the pop-up menu. Click the “Advanced…” button. Check the “Encrypt contents to secure data box”. Subsequently, you may be ask to choose whether to encrypt all the files in that folder or just the file you have selected. Pick the preferred one and click “OK” and we are done. Taken from “ShowNotes10”. Edited & added.

http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_01.png Notice that the encrypted file will be in %color=green% green color %% (Compressed file is in blue). If users form other login accounts tried to open it - the Access is denied window will shows up (as displayed above). In this case, Notepad failed to open the file.

You can also use http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx Tweak UI from Microsoft to simplify the process of encrypt/decrypt. By putting in the encryption functionality to the context menu, encrypt/decrypt can be done by right-clicking on a file/folders. Launch Tweak UI, select “Explorer”. Over the right panel, check the “Show “Encrypt” on context menu” and click “OK”.

Problem occurs when users clean install their Windows XP. Unfortunately, like some of the callers, even with the same user name and password; even if those data were still intact; they cannot open those files because the special certificate tied closely to those data was missing. Therefore, be wise to always backup your data with the encryption certificate as well. So back up now. Losing data is better than having them but cannot access them - so cruel!

Begin by login to your user account. To backup the certificate(s), we need to get to the file first. There are two ways of accessing the account’s certificate:

After reinstall your system or you would like to associate the backed up certificate to a new account, then you would need to restore the backed up certificate. It is pretty straight forward to do so.

But before that, for convenience purposes, always restore the backed up certificate first before starting to encrypt data on a new account. The new account will continues to use the backed up certificate for encryption and prevent Windows XP from generating a new account’s certificate for new encryption. As a result, you would need to back up this new certificate as well (you’ll have two certificates now).

You only need to perform this once.

Problem occurs when users clean install their Windows XP. Unfortunately, like some of the callers, even with the same user name and password; even if those data were still intact; they cannot open those files because the special certificate tied closely to those data was missing. Therefore, be wise to alway backup your data with the encryption certificate as well. So back up now. Losing data is better than having them but cannot access them - so cruel!

After reinstall your system or you would like to associate the certificate to a new account, then you would need to restore the backed up certificate. It is pretty straight forward to do so. But before that, for convenience purposes, always restore the backep up certificate first before starting to encrpyt data on a new install or new account. The new account will continues to use the backed up certificate for encryption. This will prevent Winndows XP from generating a new certificate for your new encryption. As a result, you would need to back up this new certificate as well (you’ll have two certificates now).

Just double click on your backed up certificate and this will brings up the Certificate Import Wizard. Follow the instructions given by the wizard. You will need to enter the password (if you’ve chosen to export private key) created during certificate export.

You can aslo use http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx Tweak UI from Microsoft to simplify the process of encrypt/decrypt. By putting in the encryption functionality to the context menu, encrypt/decrypt can be done by right-clicking on a file/folders. Launch Tweak UI, select “Explorer”. Over the right panel, check the “Show “Encrypt” on context menu” and click “OK”.

Begin by right-clicking on the folder/file to entrypt, select “Properties…” from the pop-up menu. Click the “Advanced…” button. Check the “Encrypt contents to secure data box”. Subsequently, you may be ask to choose whether to encrypt all the files in that folder or just the file you have selected. Pick the prefer one and clik “OK” and we are done. Taken from “ShowNotes10”. Edited & added.

You can aslo use http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx Tweak UI from Microsoft to simplify the process of encrypt/decrypt. By putting in the encryption functionality to the context menu, encrypt/decrypt can be done by right-clicking on a file/folders. Launch Tweak UI, select “Explorer”. Over the right panel, check the “Show “Encrypt” on context menu” and click “OK”. http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_TUI.png

http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_01.png Notice that the encrypted file will be in %color=green% green color %% (Compressed file is in blue). If users form other login accountthey were to try to open it - the Access is denied window will shows up (as displayed above). In this case, Notepad failed to open the file.

Begin by login to your user account. To backup the certificate(s), we need to get to the file first. There are two ways of accesing the account’s certificate:

1. Using Internet Explorer: Go to menu: “Tools|Internet Options” select the “Content” tab and click on the “Certificates…” button. This will brings up the Certificates windows showing a certificates under the “Personal” tab. It has the same name as your login. Select it and click on on the “Export” button and follow #s2 Step 2.
2. The second way is: Go to “Start|Run”, type in “certmgr.msc” into the box and hit enter. A window named Certificates will pops up. Expand the Certificates - Current User to “Personal|Certificates”. A certificate with login name shows up on the right panel (in this example, it is named Bill). Lastly, right click on certificate and select: “All task|Export”. We are now ready for #s2 Step 2.

It is pretty straight forward to restore the certificate. After you reinstall your system or you would like to associate the certificate to a new account, just double click on it and this will brings up the Certificate Import Wizard. Follow the instructions given by the wizard. You will need to enter the password (if you’ve chosen to export private key) created during certificate export.

table align=center border=0 ?
cellhttp?://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_19.png

Under construction. Edits/Additions are most welcome.

http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_02.png If you’re using Windows 2000 or Windows XP Professional and your disk is formatted with NTFS you can use the system’s built-in encryption to keep others from reading your files, even the System Administrator. This way, you can protect your sensitive data.

How to encrypt/decrypt files/folders with Windows XP

How to back up your certificate

Backing up files is a good habit for all computer users. More importantly, is to backup your encryption certificate(s) or key(s), if you have ever encrypted data in your system. A unique certificate associates with your account is created and stored in the account the first time data were encrypted. Although users may not realized this, since users always login to thier own accounts to open encrypted files, that unique encryption certificate is needed to authenticate that the user has the right to access/decrypt those data.

Problem occurs when users clean install their WinXP. Unfortunately, like some of the callers, even with the same user name and password; even if those data were still intact; they cannot open those files because the special certificate tied closely to those data was missing. Therefore, be wise to alway backup your data with the encryption certificate as well. So back up now. Losing data is better than having them but cannot access them - so cruel!

Step 1

Begin by login to your user account. To backup the certificate(s), we need to get to the file first. There are two ways of accesing the account’s certificate:

1. Using Internet Explorer. Go to menu: “Tools|Internet Options|Content” and click on the “certificates” button. This will brings up the Certificates windows showing a certificates under the “Personal” tab. It has the same name as your login. Select it and click on on the “Import” button and follow #s2 Step 2.

1. The second way is: Go to “Start|Run”, type “certmgr.msc” into the box and hit enter. A window named Certificates will pops up. Expand the Certificates - Current User to “Personal|Certificates”. A certificate with the user account name is displayed on the right panel (in this example, it is named Bill). Lastly, right click on certificate and select: “All task|Export”. We are now ready for #s2 Step 2.

http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_11.png

Step 2

http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_12.png

http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_13.png

http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_14.png

http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_15.png

http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_16.png

http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_17.png


http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_18.png

How to restore your certificate

References

• http://club.pchome.net/cool/2003/11/29/53_24637.php?rpcount=23 EFS 密钥导出/导入完全攻略 (chinese)

• http://club.pchome.net/cool/2003/11/29/53_24637.php?rpcount=23 EFS 密钥导出/导入完全攻略 (content in chinese)

http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_02.png If you’re using Windows 2000 or Windows XP Professional and your disk is formatted with NTFS you can use the system’s built-in encryption to keep others from reading your files, even the System Administrator. This way, you can protect your sensitive data.

However, keep in mind that others would still be able to alter the file (not the content of course). It means they can searh for the file, delete or move them to another folder, etc. The encrypted files or data in the encrypted folder are still visible to others but they cannot access them (to open the file or to read the content). It is nearly impossible to crack the encryption. If you would like to disable others from entering your folders or directories without permisson, then the folder’s Security features has to set. But that’s another topic. Taken from “ShowNotes10”. Edited & added.

tocauto?

How to encrypt/decrypt files/folders with Windows XP

Begin by right-clicking on the folder/file to entrypt, select “Properties…” from the pop-up menu. Click the “Advanced…” button. Check the “Encrypt contents to secure data box”. Subsequently, you may be ask to chose whether to encrypt all the files in that folder or just the file you have selected. Pick the prefer one and clik “OK” and we are done. Taken from “ShowNotes10”. Edited & added.

http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_01.png Notice that the encrypted file will be in %color=green% green color %% (Compressed file is in blue). Users form other account will see a file with “0″ file size and if they were to try to open it - the Access is denied window will shows up (as displayed above). In this case, Notepad failed to open the file.

How to backup your certificate

Backup files is a good habit for all computer users. More importantly, is to backup your encryption certificate(s) or key(s), if you have ever encrypted data in your system. A unique certificate associates with your account is created and stored in the account the first time data were encrypted. Although users may not realized this, since users always login to thier own accounts to open encrypted files, that unique encryption certificate is needed to authenticate that the user has the right to access/decrypt those data.

Problem occurs when users clean install their WinXP. Unfortunately, like some of the callers, even with the same user name and password; even if those data were still intact; they cannot open those files because the special certificate tied closely to those data was missing. Therefore, be wise to alway backup your data with the encryption certificate as well. Losing data is better than having them but cannot access them - so cruel!

How to restore your certificate

How to encrypt/decrypt files/folders with Windows XP?

Internal Links

External Links

What’s EFS?

How to back up your certificate

Step 1. Begin by login to your user account. To backup the certificate(s), we need to get to the file first. There are two ways of accesing the account’s certificate:

1. Using Interner Explorer. Go to menu: “Tools|Internet Options|Content” and click on the “certificates” button. This will brings up the Certificates windows showing a certificates under the “Personal” tab. It has the same name as your login. Select it and click on on the “Import” button and follow #s3 Step 3.
2. The second way is via the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Go to “Start|Run”, type “mmc” into the box and hit enter. A window named Console1 will pops up. Follow #s2 Step 2.

Step 2. Go to menu: “File|Add/Remove Snap-in” (or press CTRL+M).
http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_05.png

The Add/Remove Snap-in window you will see. Click on the “Add” button.
http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_06.png

You will see the Add Standalone Snap-ins window. Select the “Certificates” and “Add” it.
http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_07.png

“Close” the Add Standalone Snap-in window and click “OK” on the Add/Remove Snap-in window. Now, the Certificates - Current User is listed under the Console root. Expand it to “Personal|Certificates”. A certificate with the user account name is displayed on the right panel (in this example, it is named Bill). Lastly, right click on certificate and select: “All task|Export”. We are now ready for #s3 Step 3.

External Links

• http://www.compulink.co.uk/~davedorn/computing/windows/xpencrypt1.htm Guide: Windows XP Pro - Using File Encryption

EFS Related Softwares

• http://www.crackpassword.com/products/prs/mswin/efs/ ElcomSoft - Advanced EFS Data Recovery
• http://www.lostpassword.com/efs.htm EFS Key

Step 1. Login to your user account. To backup the certificate, we need to get to the file first. There are two ways of accesing the account’s certificate. The first method is using the Interner Explorer. Go to menu: Tools|Internet Options|Content tab and click on the certificates button. This will brings up the Certificates windows showing a cert under the Personal tab with the same name as your login. Select it and click on on the Import button and follow #s3 Step 3. The second way is via the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Go to Start|Run, type mmc into the box and hit enter. A window named Console1 will pops up.

“Close” the Add Standalone Snap-in window and click “OK” on the Add/Remove Snap-in window. Now, the Certificate - Current User is listed under the Console root. Expand it to “Personal|Certificates”. The cert named as the user account will be displayed on the right panel (in this example, it is named bill). Lastly, right click on cert and select: “All task|Export”. We are now ready for #s3 Step 3.

table align=left border=0 width=70%?

Windows Encrypted File System (EFS)

tocauto?

How to back up your certificate

http://www.geocities.com/garlics82/image/EFS/EFS_01.png

Step 1. Login to the your user account. To backup the certificate, we need to get to the file first. There are two ways of accesing the account’s certificate. The first method is using the Interner Explorer. Go to menu: Tools|Internet Options|Content tab and click on the certificates button. This will brings up the Certificates windows showing a cert under the Personal tab with the same name as your login. Select it and click on on the Import button and follow #s3 Step 3. The second way is via the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Go to Start|Run, type mmc into the box and hit enter. A window named Console1 will pops up.

Step 2. Go to menu: “File|Add/Remove Snap-in” (or press CTRL+M).

The Add/Remove Snap-in window will you will see. Click on the “Add” button.

Overthere, select the “Certificate” and “Add” it.

This will brings up the Certificates Snap-ins. Select “My user account” annd “Finish”.

“Close” the Add Standalone Snap-in window and click “OK” on the Add/Remove Snap-in window. Now, the Certificate - Current User is listed under the Console root. Expand it to “Personal|Certificates”. The cert named as the user account will be displayed on the right panel (in this example, it is named bill). Lastly, right click on cert and selet: “All task|Export”. We are now ready for #s3 Step 3.

Step 3.

How to restore your certificate.

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External Links

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EFS Wikipedia: EFS
• http://www.petri.co.il/%77%68%61%74%27%73%5F%65%66%73%2E%68%74%6D MCSEWorld: What’s EFS?
• http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=223316 Microsoft: Best practices for the Encrypting File System
• http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/reskit/en-us/prnb_efs_awzg.asp Microsoft Windows XP Resource Kit - Overview of EFS

How to solve this?

• http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sharefilesefs.mspx How to Share Files Using Encrypting File System
• http://club.pchome.net/cool/2003/11/29/53_24637.php?rpcount=23 EFS 密钥导出/导入完全攻略

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Under construction. Additions are most welcome.

Start>>Run, insert mmc into the box and hit enter.

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Windows Encrypted File System

How to back up your certificate

Under construction. Additions are most welcome.

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