Microsoft released the Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PC’s in 2007 which includes the Encrypting File System Assistant. This means that the SAM (Security Accounts Manager) file is not encrypted, so it is possible to extract the SAM file and use Password Cracking software to figure out the passwords. EFS does not encrypt Microsoft Windows system files. If EFS is used on a laptop, it will add a layer of protection to the data that is encrypted however, it is not foolproof. The use of the Encrypted File System is seamless to the user and can be implemented at an enterprise level. The credentials necessary for encrypting and decrypting the folder are tied to your username and password, so having a robust password is still necessary. To encrypt a folder in Windows XP Professional (encryption is not available in the Home version), you simply right click the folder and select, “Properties.” When the properties window opens, select the “General” tab, and click on the “Advanced” button, and you will be presented with the “Advanced Attributes” window, where you will see the option “Encrypt contents to secure data.” Select that option and the folder will be encrypted. When you encrypt a folder using EFS, all files within that folder become encrypted, and all files are added to that folder will be encrypted. EFS is a native part of the Windows NTFS file system and is easy to implement. If an individual were to use the software on a corporate computer and the individual were to die or become unwilling to provide the password to decrypt the files, it would be challenging to recover the encrypted data.Īnother encryption option that has been available since Microsoft Windows 2000 is EFS, the Encrypted File System. Encrypting individual files and folders also does not encrypt deleted files, which can be recovered.Īnother thing to consider when evaluating a tool such as Cryptext, is that it is not an enterprise-grade tool. Granted, it requires special software and knowledge to recover this type of information, but for those with the knowledge, it is easy to do. If you only encrypt the original file, the data it contains could be recovered from one of these temporary files. Several of these files contain the same contents as the original file. The principal disadvantage of using a solution that encrypts individual files and folders is that they do not encrypt residual files and deleted files.įor example, whenever you create a file using Microsoft Word, 15 temporary files are created in the background. Cryptext is a Microsoft Windows shell extension that allows you to encrypt files and folders simply by right-clicking and selecting “encrypt.” One of the advantages of this type of encryption program is that the files remain encrypted until they are manually decrypted. One of the easiest encryption options to implement is to use a file level encryption application like Cryptext. As with any other security mechanism, some thought and prior planning needs to be completed prior to implementing any encryption mechanism. Decryption takes this garbled text and converts it back into readable plain text. Encryption uses complex mathematical algorithms to change plain text into gibberish, so it is unreadable. One of the best ways to protect data is to use encryption. If the laptop does not have a CD or DVD drive installed, one can simply remove the hard drive from the laptop and connect it to another computer. A bootable CD can allow someone to access all files on the laptop’s hard drive and copy them onto a USB device. First, it is possible to boot the computer using one of the many bootable Linux CD’s in existence, such as Helix ( ). Many are convinced that if they use a robust password, no one can get the data off of their laptops however, if the data is only protected by a Microsoft Windows username and password, it is a trivial matter to break into the computer. Many business professionals still believe that the data on their personal devices and laptop computers is protected because they are required to login to the device using a username and password combination. While having this information readily available is an extreme benefit from a productivity standpoint, it poses a serious problem from a security and privacy perspective. Our handheld devices, which used to be simply phones and contact managers, now have the ability to create, store and transmit data quickly and efficiently.įor many business professionals, these mobile computing platforms are a “must have” and contain a great deal of confidential information. Laptop computers now outsell desktop computers. We have become a mobile computing society.
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