Hi Guys

I am loking to be able to password a file that I have on my work network. Any ideas on how to do this?

Thanks in advance

What sort of file is it?

If it's a microsoft office file you should open the file, go to the file menu and select save as. You can then use the options to set a read password or an edit password.

Or you could use file permissions, that would be best done at the directory/folder level IMO.

Either use one of the existing groups or create your own and make the users who need to access the directory part of that group. Then edit the permissions of the directory only allowing that group access.

A little more detail, it is a folder relating to data I have acquired.

The computers the folder is on is an XP OS. It will mostly be accessed by people using Vista.

Data will be added to the folder over time, and it is of prime importance that the folders contents can not be accessed or read by any unauthorized person who may have been granted access to the network.

I apologize for the earlier information that was possibly a little mis leading.

Sounds like my suggestion is exactly what you need to do.

On the machines sharing the data you need to create a user account with a password then go to the folder you want to restrict access to right click it and choose the security tab. Add the new username and select the sort of access you want, then make sure you remove all others from the list apart from the administrator group.

When accessing this folder on the remote machines they should be prompted for a username and password.

Excellent thanks for that I will try it.

Will this still allow other users to access other folders on the same PC without needing to enter the same password?

Yes the security will only apply to that folder and anything beneath it in the filesystem.

Right I have now set up the newuser account, added that to the security list, and it all works as it should between machines running XP, but when trying to acess the folder from any of the Vista machines all I get is an access denied box, any suggestions on how to fix this?

Glad to hear you've made some progress... I'm afraid I can't help with you Fista issue though :(

You're not on a 'proper' network then with group policies?

Do you have a file server?

It should really be on there within a shared folder with permissions allocated out to authorised users.

If it's important it shouldn't be on the C drive of a network PC. What if your disk goes tits up?

I dont know about a 'proper' network, it is just what I have set up, and I am no networking expert, far from it.

Yes i have a File server and that whole PC is also passworded, so any network files can only be acessed with the password.

I cannot just save the data to this file server, all data will be backed up on to this routinly, but the inital save has to be on the source PC for the programs involved to be able to integrate correctly, also the program will not let me change the save location, so saving all data to the file server by default is not an option.

I cannot just password the acess to the data PC because it will be necessary for some people to access some of the shared data from this PC, but not other bits.

Also users of the network is going to change on a regualr basis, and configuring permissons all the time could prove to be a PITA.

An alternative option to this would be to get a shared key as the password and then encrypt the file using a symmetric function using this key.

The receivers would then need to have the key to open the file.

^ A truecrypt container would let you do this

TrueCrypt - Free Open-Source On-The-Fly Disk Encryption Software for Windows Vista/XP, Mac OS X and Linux

On the machines sharing the data you need to create a user account with a password then go to the folder you want to restrict access to right click it and choose the security tab. Add the new username and select the sort of access you want, then make sure you remove all others from the list apart from the administrator group.

Wouldn't it be easier to use groups to manage access to the files and then you can just add/remove users from the group, rather than having to do it to all applicable folders each time?

Users/groups can then be managed in a single place (Control Panel -> Admin Tools -> Computer Management -> Users and groups) to keep the admin overhead minimal.

Chris

Wouldn't it be easier to use groups to manage access to the files and then you can just add/remove users from the group, rather than having to do it to all applicable folders each time?

Users/groups can then be managed in a single place (Control Panel -> Admin Tools -> Computer Management -> Users and groups) to keep the admin overhead minimal.

Chris

You mean like I suggested here? :P:D

Either use one of the existing groups or create your own and make the users who need to access the directory part of that group. Then edit the permissions of the directory only allowing that group access.

You mean like I suggested here? :P:D

Yep - but then you backtracked and started talking about adding new users :P

Chris

With your Vista machines check to see if "simple file sharing" is enabled. On XP you find that under explorer / View / Folder options / View tab, right at the bottom of the list. Untick it and they should work the same way as the XP ones (hopefully - things may have changed in Vista).

Re users vs. groups yes it will make it easier. Once you've tested with the separate user, create a group and give it the same access, then add the people to the group who need access to the files.

An alternative option to this would be to get a shared key as the password and then encrypt the file using a symmetric function using this key.

The receivers would then need to have the key to open the file.

There's always a *nix bod ready with an obscure answer to a simple question, isn't there

Yep - but then you backtracked and started talking about adding new users :P

Chris

Yes as it seemed the path of least resistance

Can always progress onto groups later if needs be.

There's always a *nix bod ready with an obscure answer to a simple question, isn't there

Aye, but it would have worked by now too