Microsoft Retracts Private Folder Option

An anonymous reader writes "Just recently, an update to Windows added the option to password-encrypt a personal folder. The intent was to allow users who share PCs to have a measure of privacy, but C|Net reports the company is now removing that functionality with a patch. IT managers hit the roof when the option was added, complaining of the possibility of lost passwords and inaccessible data." From the article: "'Oh great, have they even thought about the impact this could have on enterprises. I'm already trying to frantically find information on this product so that A) I can block to all our desktops and B) figure out how we then support it when users inevitably lose files. I can see the benefit in this product for home users, but it's a bit of a sloppy release by Microsoft,' Stuart Graham said in a posting on Windows Server-related site MSBlog."

Comments

Re:That could've been a good feature!

[Anonymous Coward]

Here is an idea for those IT managers complaining, DONT allow users to install applications. What kind of a security policy do you have that allows users to just install software. Frankly I like this feature, it is simple to use for home, and is a better option than EFS at home.

Re:That could've been a good feature!

[v1]

You're falling into the oxymoron of "windows security" again.

I find it amusing that Mac OS has had filevault for what, several years now, with no resulting cataclysm. MS introduces it and half the PC IT flip their lids and MS runs scared. What is wrong with these people? Sorry if I sound like a BOFH but if the user puts data into a vault and then loses their password, they will get no pity from me. Do we cry for the neighbor that just locked his keys in his car while it was running? No, we laugh and point fingers. Some actions carry a built-in penalty for blatant stupidity, and this is one of them. If I put a hammer in the toolbox at work and Joe cracks his thumb trying to hang a picture in his cubicle, do we chase after me for leaving a dangerous object within reach of the monkeys? No, again we laugh and point fingers.

If your company is impossibly tilted toward the users, then just add a line to the AUP that states that filevault or whatever is not and cannot be supported by IT and if you have problems with it you should not expect any help.

In some organizations, the head of IT thinks he's god. More often though it seems, the users think they are the chosen ones and that IT can do the work of gods.