
close
close
Upcoming FREE Conference on Identity Management and Privileged Access Management
Can I encrypt compressed files or folders? Can I compress encrypted files or folders?
No. NTFS file compression and file encryption are mutually exclusive because of the way NTFS compression is performed. You can use only one of these options at a time on a file.
If the file is compressed and you try to encrypt it, then the check boxes will actually act as radio boxes (Stupid MS programmers! If they are in fact radio boxes why make them look like check boxes? Too much pizza?)
Because encryption is an attribute, you must have write permission to encrypt a file or folder. But even if you have write permission, you cannot encrypt files or folders in the systemroot folder (for example, %systemroot%\Notepad.exe or %systemroot%\System32). You also cannot encrypt files or folders that have their system attribute set. If these types of files and folders could be encrypted, it might render the system useless. This is because many of these files are needed for the system to start up, and decryption keys are not available during the startup process to decrypt them. If you attempt to encrypt a file or folder in the systemroot folder or that has its system attributes set, the encryption attempt fails and an error message appears.
Try to encrypt Notepad.exe for example…
You might also want to read the following related articles:
More in Security
Microsoft Defender for IoT Gets Cloud-Powered Security Features to Protect Enterprise Networks
Mar 21, 2023 | Rabia Noureen
Azure Firewall Basic Now Available to Protect Small Businesses Against Cyberattacks
Mar 16, 2023 | Rabia Noureen
Microsoft Releases Updates to Patch Critical Outlook NTLM Vulnerability
Mar 16, 2023 | Rabia Noureen
Microsoft Warns About New MFA Bypass Tool Used in AiTM Phishing Campaigns
Mar 15, 2023 | Rabia Noureen
Microsoft 365 Defender Adds Real-Time Custom Detections Support in Preview
Mar 14, 2023 | Rabia Noureen
GitHub to Start Rolling Out Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) to All Contributors Today
Mar 13, 2023 | Rabia Noureen
Most popular on petri