"Securing Data on Windows XP Home Edition"
By Ralph Moore ©2004

When considering whether or not to implement security
measures for your business, consider this: Can you
really afford to lose your data, share access to your
sensitive information with strangers or waste your time
and money on repairing the havoc caused by "crackers"
infiltrating your network?

Regardless of the type of business you are in, or the
number of computers that you use for your business, it
is essential that you give yourself "the edge" when
considering security.

For most of us this starts with an operating system that
is built "from the ground up" with security in mind.

And since most software for business is built for the
Microsoft Windows platform, we are talking specifically
about MS Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 (again
the Professional version) or Windows NT .

These are the only operating systems (that originate from
"Redmond") that allow you to control access to your files
and folders, right out of the box.

Nevertheless, many people opt to use Windows XP "Home" on
the personal computers that they use for business.

While I always recommend spending the few extra bucks for
the professional version, there ARE some ways to get much
of the same functionality from the "crippled" version.

A good rule of thumb: Never use a "personal edition" of
any operating system (or any security software for that
matter) for business purposes.

Even if you work in a "soft security environment", meaning
a home office, it's important to secure business files
and folders from accidental deletion by anyone else who
may use the computer.

If you find that you need to secure some of your sensitive
data on your Windows XP Home Edition computer, start by
setting up the computer to use "NTFS" permissions.

Warning: If you decide to convert a Fat32 hard drive to
NTFS, be sure that you back up everything first, just
"in case".

To convert an existing FAT or FAT32 volume to NTFS, follow
these steps:

Click "Start", point to "All Programs", then "Accessories",
and click the "Command Prompt".

Type "convert drive letter: /fs:ntfs" (without the quotes)
where drive letter is the drive that you want to convert:

For example, type the following command to convert drive C
to NTFS: convert c: /fs:ntfs

When you see the following message displayed in the command
prompt window, type the volume label of the drive that you
are converting, and then press ENTER:

"The type of the file system is FAT.
Enter the current volume label for drive drive letter:"

When the conversion to NTFS is complete, the following line
is displayed in the command prompt window:

"Conversion complete
Quit the command prompt."

Now shut down and restart the system.

Here's a way to create secure password-protected folders
on the home edition of the operating system:

Right click on the "Start" menu and click "Explore".
In Windows Explorer, find "Documents and Settings".
Open that folder and find your account name.
Now open the folder with your account name.
Notice the folders under your account name.

To make these folders private, right click on your account
name and click the "Properties" command.
Click the "Sharing" tab.
On the "Sharing" tab, put a checkmark in the "Make this
folder private" box and click "Apply".

If you have no password for your account, you will be
prompted to create a password. Click "Yes" and create a
password consisting of numbers and letters that are hard
to guess but that you will readily remember.

After creating the password, click "OK" in the "Properties"
dialog box.

After making this change, all of you personal account
folders and files will be secure from others who may be
using the computer.

Ralph Moore, Editor - Eagle Flyer Newsletter - Get No-Cost
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