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Access Rights

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Is there a way to give access to only one user.
That user will be the only one to see or have access to files or Dir. Even the network administrator can not have access. My servers OS is Netware4.11 and Win Nt 4.0. I will soon drop netware and moveNt 4.0 to W2k. Thank you for your help.

13 replies

by ann777

Yes you can give access to only one person in WinNT or Win2000. In Windows Explorer, go to the file or folder and right-click on it --> clikc on Sharing and give it a share-name. Then click on the security tab and find the one user you want to provide access to.

Please realize that if the administrators cannot access the file/folders, and the share-point is on a server, there will not be an viable backup of the file or folder. You or the person you are sharing with, would be fully responsible if anything goes wrong.

by ann777

Yes you can give access to only one person in WinNT or Win2000. In Windows Explorer, go to the file or folder and right-click on it --> clikc on Sharing and give it a share-name. Then click on the security tab and find the one user you want to provide access to.

Please realize that if the administrators cannot access the file/folders, and the share-point is on a server, there will not be an viable backup of the file or folder. You or the person you are sharing with, would be fully responsible if anything goes wrong.

by timwalsh

Can't answer for Netware, but can for WinNT/2K.

The short answer is you can't (for and administrator)(unless you encrypt everything).

If you change the attributes of a directory to hidden, one must only change the folder options to show hiddenfiles.

If you change permissions to specifically deny access to a file or folder, an administrator still has ways to get at it. Administrators have a user right to take ownership of any object. Once ownership is taken over, permissions can be changed to allow access. Denying access to a folder will prevent anyone denied access from seeing the contents of the folder, but not the folder itself.

You could even try denying the administrator the ability to log-on to the local machine using Group Policy (Win2K) or System Policy (NT4), but all an administrator needs to do is set the same policy at the domain level and it will overright and take precedence over any local policy.

Even if you encrypt everything, all that does is prevent anyone else from opening a file or folder. It doesn't prevent listing the file or folder(i.e. seeing they exist).

If your goal is to prevent access, encrypt it. If your goal is to prevent ANYONE from seeing that the file/folder exists, stick it on a floppy and carry it with you.

by shmaltz

Anna777 is wrong on this one. The answer to your question is:
In Windows NT/2K there is no way of restricting the administrator. What ever you will try the Administrator will have a way around to gain access to the file.
You could however do Encryptions (like answer 3 suggests). However if you use the ecryption that comes with Windows 2000 the Administrtor will still have access to the ecrypted files.
This is a question that is being asked again and again on Tech Republic. And my advice is always the same: If you can't trust your admin, fire him. Your files (in windows) are anyhow not secure, since if someone has phisical access to the machine and you don't trust him/her, s/he will always be able to access your files. Hire someone you can trust. If there would be a way to lock out the admin from accessing your files, then you have suceeded in eliminating the purpose of security.

by dlima

I have a question anthony.tocco@stanford.edu what program are you using to create the document that you want to share?

Why do I ask? If you are using something like word, excell, or access you can set a document password when you create the file.

Your Network admin would then need to give your associate the NTFS (Server) permission to see the folders/files accross the network. What would then happen is your associate could see the file, click on it and then be prompted for the document password (make sure you share that with him).

Consequently, your network admin will not have access to that file unless you also give him or her the password.

Any questions please email me I will be happy to elaborate.

Good Luck... All things are possible in JESUS CHRIST..

by jayanth

Hi, I agree with Anna's answer. The steps given in that answer are the optimal to do. With those steps only the desired person will have the access to that particular folder. It is true that the admin can change those permissions or take ownership, but what good is a Admin whom you can't trust??? So, if possible have trust in your admin and follow Anna's solution :)

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