"Bill" <not@got.one> wrote in message
news:yMOdner085xWIz3bnZ2dnUVZ8tyqnZ2d@bt.com...
>I believe that Win XP Pro has the facility to encrypt folders and/or the
>files within them, but only if the hard drive uses NTFS rather than FAT32 -
>is that correct?
>
> If it is, can a USB flashdrive (like this one, for instance
> http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/116102) be formatted as NTFS to allow
> folder encryption?
>
> Cheers,
>
> Bill.
You are correct, EFS encryption is only available on NTFS drives and this
isn't availble on XP Home.
The encrypted files are NOT easily portable - they can't be used on other
systems without importing the originating account certificates - and you
*absolutely must* complete the invocation of EFS by backing up the account
certificates. Otherwise, following many events, you will permanently lose
access to the data. A crash and reinstall is all it takes, or somebody
helping you by changing your password from the Admin account when you forgot
it. Remembering the password won't help.
Be sure that you have made yourself fully aware of EFS implications before
using it. Test the encryption, and when you test, be sure that you have
an unencrypted copy of the data. And be sure that you have the account
certificates backed up, and have tested those too.
If you're seeking portable data security, there are probably better ideas
than EFS.
Also, be aware that USB drives do have limited lives and are known to
suddenly fail. Have backups.
HTH
-pk