- Certificates, Public Key Infrastructure, and Encryption
- Encrypting Files and Folders with EFS
- The Need for Speed
- The Keys to EFS
- Rules To Remember
Encrypting Files and Folders with EFS
Using EFS in Windows is simple. Just open a file or folder's properties dialog box, click Advanced, and choose the option to encrypt the contents of the file or folder. The encrypted folder's name will appear in green in the directory.
The first time you use EFS, Windows automatically creates the necessary EFS certificate containing the public and private key pairs needed to encrypt and decrypt data. Your user certificate is stored in your profile, and a certificate containing a second key pair goes to the recovery agent for your system.