Windows XP and Vista include a feature that enables you to encrypt folders on your computer’s hard drive so that they’re protected in case your computer is stolen.
Do I need to encrypt my files?
Most on campus people who use desktop computers probably don’t need to encrypt, unless the computer contains sensitive data, since their computer is unlikely to be stolen. People who keep important private data on their systems (faculty who keep student data, for example) should definitely keep it in an encrypted folder. Encryption is also important for people who use laptops, which are frequently lost or stolen.
Anyone who keeps Banner data on their system should absolutely keep it in an encrypted folder.
Note that folders on network drives (such as your PSU user space, or department shared drive) cannot be encrypted. Access to those files is limited to you or the designated group of people, so no one else can access them, and since they’re on the network you can’t physically lose them.
If you primarily use a desktop computer and either don’t keep any sensitive data on it, or keep your sensitive data only on your network drive, you probably don’t have to be concerned.
I use Vista, I heard you can encrypt the entire drive – should I do that?
We recommend against it. The Bitlocker encryption that you can enable on your Windows Vista machine can be dangerous in the sense that if anything goes wrong with it, or you forget your password, all your data is gone – unrecoverable. If you use the encrypted folders feature (EFS) and forget your password, the ITS staff will be able to assist you in regaining access to your data, as long as it was originally encrypted while you were logged into the campus PLYMOUTH domain.
Should I encrypt individual files or entire folders?
Although you can encrypt files individually, generally it’s a good idea to designate a specific folder where you will store your encrypted files, and to encrypt that folder. If you do this, all files that are created in or moved to this folder will automatically be encrypted.
Is using encrypted files a big hassle?
No. While you use your encrypted files, the encryption will be transparent to you. After you set it up, your files will open, close, and save without you needing to take any extra steps.
How do I encrypt a folder?
To encrypt a folder:
- Locate the folder that you want to encrypt, right-click it, and then click Properties.
- On the†General tabâ€, click the “Advanced†button.
- Under the “Compress or Encrypt†attributes, check the “Encrypt contents to secure data†check box, and then click OK.
- Click OK again.
- If the folder isn’t empty, the “Confirm Attribute Changes†dialog box appears. Click “Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and filesâ€, and then click OK.
The folder becomes an encrypted folder. New files that you create in this folder are automatically encrypted. Note that this does not prevent others from viewing the names of files in the folder; it prevents them from opening or copying items in the encrypted folder. For example, if another user attempts to open a document that has been created in the encrypted folder, or attempts to copy or move a document from the encrypted folder to another location, an error message will appear.
How do I decrypt a folder?
Go through the same steps as above, but this time UN-check the “Encrypt contents to secure data†checkbox.
How can I tell if a folder or file is encrypted?
The name of the folder or file will appear in green letters in Windows Explorer.
Best Practices/Tips:
- The best way to operate, instead of encrypting everything, is to create a folder named “Encrypted Files†under your “My Documents†folder and keep files that need to be encrypted in that folder.
- It’s best to not encrypt individual files but to instead encrypt folders
- A file cannot be both compressed and encrypted at the same time.
- When another user creates a document in an encrypted folder, that document is encrypted, allowing (by default) only that user to gain access.
