Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Encrypting File System in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003

Abstract
Microsoft® Windows® XP and Windows Server 2003 provide many enhancements in the area of data protection— especially Encrypting File System (EFS). This article provides a technical walkthrough that illustrates how to use important data recovery and protection features in various Windows platforms. Also included are best practices and the steps needed to build an effective data recovery and protection strategy.
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Introduction
Microsoft® Windows® XP and Windows Server 2003 provide significant advancements in data recovery and protection and private key recovery. Microsoft Windows 2000 introduced the capability for data protection and protected data recovery with the implementation of Encrypting File System (EFS), and this capability has been enhanced in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
EFS—in Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003—supports the use of data recovery agents (DRA) to decrypt files that have been encrypted by other users.
This article is intended to assist system architects and administrators in developing best practices for creating data recovery and data protection strategies using Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
In addition to explaining strategies for data recovery and data protection in Windows XP, this article includes many step-by-step examples that illustrate how to set up the data recovery and data protection features you'll want to use when deploying a Windows XP data recovery and protection solution.
The main topics discussed include:

EFS Enhancements in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003
Data Recovery Overview
Data Recovery Using EFS
Data Recovery—Best Practices
Data Protection—Best Practices
Data Recovery Versus Key Recovery
Troubleshooting
Note EFS is not available in Windows XP Home Edition.

Read more: Technet