USING "ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM" TO PROTECT FILES AND FOLDERS IN "WINDOWS.."

1. USING "ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM" TO PROTECT FILES AND FOLDERS IN "WINDOWS.."

2. Web location for this presentation: • http://aztcs.org • Click on • “Meeting Notes”

3. SUMMARY Many of the "editions" of "Windows 2000", "Windows XP", "Windows Vista", "Windows 7", and "Windows 8" have the "Encrypting File System" (EFS) for securing files and/or folders inside NTFS hard drive partitions.

4. TOPICS • Basics of Encrypting File System • "EFS" versus "BitLocker" • "Encrypting File System" Service • Using the "Certificate Manager" to Check for Existing Personal "Public Key Certificates" • Encrypting A File or Folder with EFS • Using the "Certificate Manager" to Export a Newly-Created Public Key and Private Key

5. TOPICS (continued) • .PFX "Personal Information Exchange" files • Decrypting an EFS-encrypted file/folder • Deleted Certificates Stay in RAM And Are Active Until You Reboot

6. BASICS OF EFS • The "Encrypting File System" (EFS) is a feature of "NTFS" hard drives (and partitions) for many editions of "Windows 2000" through "Windows 8".

7. BASICS OF EFS (continued) • When view in "Windows Explorer" ("File Explorer"), a folder that contains only "Encrypting File System"-encrypted files will have it's name in green text:

9. BASICS OF EFS (continued) • When viewed in "Windows Explorer" ("File Explorer"), a file that is encrypted by "Encrypting File System" will have it's name in green text:

11. BASICS OF EFS (continued) • Another user on the same computer will be unable to open/view the EFS-protected file. • If someone takes your hard drive, and puts it into an external hard drive enclosure and attaches the enclosure to their own computer, they will be unable to open/view the EFS-protected file.

14. BASICS OF EFS (continued) • "ESF" is a feature of "NTFS" hard drives (and partitions) for many editions of "Windows 2000" through "Windows 8".

15. BASICS OF EFS (continued) • In EFS, "public key certificates", "private keys", and passwords to controll the various keys all work together to give you "two factor authentication".

16. BASICS OF EFS (continued) • The advantages of having certificates are detailed in ` http://www.trustico.com/material/Techpaper_10_Best_Practices_Securing_Your_Enterprise.pdf#page=6 and http://serverfault.com/questions/182980/how-is-using-client-certificates-more-secure-than-tls-plus-basic-authentication

17. BASICS OF EFS (continued) • According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encrypting_File_System, Ecrypting File System (EFS) is available for the following editions of "Windows..":

18. BASICS OF EFS (continued)

19. BASICS OF EFS (continued) • "Windows Vista Starter", "..Home Basic", and "..Home Premium" allow only decryption--so you can read encrypted files but you cannot encrypt them according to http://pcworld.about.net/od/encryption1/The-Simple-Way-to-Keep-Your-Pr.htm

20. BASICS OF EFS (continued) • For "Windows Vista Starter", "..Home Basic", and "..Home Premium" you can decrypt EFS-encrypted files using the cipher command line command. See http://windows.microsoft.com/is-IS/windows-vista/What-is-Encrypting-File-System-EFS

21. BASICS OF EFS (continued) • "Windows 7 Starter", "..Home Basic", and "..Home Premium" allow only decryption--so you can read encrypted files but you not encrypt them

22. BASICS OF EFS (continued) • For "Windows 7 Starter", "..Home Basic", and "..Home Premium" you can decrypt EFS-encrypted files using the cipher command line command.

23. BASICS OF EFS (continued) • See http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_programs/cipherexe-returns-error-the-request-is-not/9d5cb3fc-d092-4551-bc9f-f62dbd46f37c?msgId=5ad136ca-dedf-4013-8f1c-81627b907895

24. BASICS OF EFS (continued)

25. BASICS OF EFS (continued) • "Encrypting File System" is also available for NTFS drives/partitions for the "..Pro" and "..Enterprise" editions of "Windows 8". • "Encrypting File System" will not be available for the "..RT" or "Windows 8" editions of "Windows 8". • Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_8_editions#Comparison_chart

26. "EFS" VERSUS "BITLOCKER" • "Bitlocker" is used to encrypt entire hard drives or hard drive partitions whiile "Encrypting File System" is used to encrypt individual data files and/or folders • "EFS" causes less of a performance reduction on your Windows computer

27. "EFS" VERSUS "BITLOCKER" (continued) • See http://www.lockergnome.com/windows/2012/04/25/bitlocker-vs-efs/

28. "ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM" SERVICE MUST BE SET TO "MANUAL" OR "AUTOMATIC" • In order to encrypt or decrypt a file or folder, the "Encrypting File System" services has to be set to "Manual" or "Automatic": You can run services.msc from any search box or "Run" box in "Windows.." to turn it on:

29. "ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM" SERVICE SET TO "MANUAL" OR "AUTOMATIC" (continued) • Step 1: Click on the "Start" button in versions of "Windows" prior to "..8" or, for "Windows 8..", hover over the lower-left "Hot Corner" and use the RIGHT mouse" to click on "Run" in the pop-up "Power User Context Menu":

30. "ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM" SERVICE SET TO "MANUAL" OR "AUTOMATIC" (continued) • Step 2: Type in services.msc • Step 3: Press once on the Enter key.

32. "ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM" SERVICE SET TO "MANUAL" OR "AUTOMATIC" (continued) • Step 4: A "Services" Microsoft Management Console window will be displayed:

34. "ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM" SERVICE SET TO "MANUAL" OR "AUTOMATIC" (continued) • Step 5: Use the vertical scroll bar on the right to scroll downward until you locate the "Encrypting File System" service. • Step 6: Use your RIGHT mouse button to click on it. • Step 7: A pop-up context menu will be displayed:

35. "ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM" SERVICE SET TO "MANUAL" OR "AUTOMATIC" (continued) • Step 8: Click on "Properties" in the pop-up context menu:

37. "ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM" SERVICE SET TO "MANUAL" OR "AUTOMATIC" (continued) • Step 9: A "Properties" dialog box will be displayed. • Step 10: Make sure that "Startup type" is set to "Manual" or "Automatic". "Manual" is preferable. • Step 11: Click on the "Apply" button if it is not grayed out.`

38. "ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM" SERVICE SET TO "MANUAL" OR "AUTOMATIC" (continued) • Step 12: Close the "Properties" dialog box. • Step 13: Close the "Services" Microsoft Management Console window.

40. USING THE "CERTIFICATE MANAGER" TO CHECK FOR EXISTING PERSONAL "PUBLIC KEY CERTIFICATES" • Step 1: Click on the "Start" button in versions of "Windows" prior to "..8" or, for "Windows 8..", hover over the lower-left "Hot Corner" and use the RIGHT mouse" to click on "Run" in the pop-up "Power User Context Menu":

42. USING THE "CERTIFICATE MANAGER" TO CHECK FOR EXISTING PERSONAL "PUBLIC KEY CERTIFICATES" (continued) • Step 2: Use the right mouse button to click on "cmd.exe" in versions of "Windows" prior to "..8" or, for "Windows 8..", use the left mouse button to click on "Command Prompt (Admin) in the pop-up Power User Tasks menu:

44. USING THE "CERTIFICATE MANAGER" TO CHECK FOR EXISTING PERSONAL "PUBLIC KEY CERTIFICATES" (continued) • Step 3: Use the left mouse button to click on "Run as administrator" in versions of "Windows" prior to "..8" or, for "Windows 8..", use the left mouse button to click on the "Yes" button of the "User Account Control" dialog box:

46. USING THE "CERTIFICATE MANAGER" TO CHECK FOR EXISTING PERSONAL "PUBLIC KEY CERTIFICATES" (continued) • Step 4: A command prompt window, will be displayed:

48. USING THE "CERTIFICATE MANAGER" TO CHECK FOR EXISTING PERSONAL "PUBLIC KEY CERTIFICATES" (continued) • Step 5: Inside the command prompt window, type in certmgr.msc • Step 6: Press once on the Enter key.

50. USING THE "CERTIFICATE MANAGER" TO CHECK FOR EXISTING PERSONAL "PUBLIC KEY CERTIFICATES" (continued) • Step 7: A "certmgr" Microsoft Management Console window will be displayed: