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51
Disable EFS to make your documents more secure

The Encrypting File System (EFS) provides another layer of security for your documents. Even

though it's very useful, you have to be aware of two important issues.



First, EFS-encrypted files are transferred between computers in unencrypted form. To secure files

during network transfer, you must use some other technology like IPSec. Second, other potential

problems are private keys and recovery agents. To efficiently use EFS, you need a good recovery

policy.



Most of the time, you'll let users decide if they want to use EFS. However, you have the ability to

disable EFS if you want. The funny thing about disabling EFS is that there isn't a "Disable EFS"

setting. Basically, you disable EFS by removing the recovery agent. If no recovery agents are

defined, Windows 2000 computers prevent users from using EFS.



If you have a Windows 2000 domain, open Active Directory Users And Computers.

Right-click the domain and select Properties.

On the Group Policy tab, select Default Domain Policy and click Edit.

Go to Computer Configuration | Windows Settings | Security Settings | Public Key Policies |

Encrypted Data Recovery Agents.

If there are any certificates, delete them.

Right-click Encrypted Data Recovery Agents, click Delete Policy, and then click Yes.

Right-click Encrypted Data Recovery Agents and click on Initialize Empty Policy.

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