is it possible...

[111]

I have many hours invested in a front end/ back end application and i think i may be in trouble.

The server I have the back end (tables) on is also one of the users workstation.The file "raw
data.mdb" is in a "shared directory" that all on the users on the network have access to. Each
user has his own version of the front end application which pulls the critical data from the
shared backend raw data.mdb.

The problem is that i cant seem to protect this raw data file from being copied, opened emailed
somewhere etc.

The network we're using is Windows2000 professional, and Access 2000 is the software the
application is built on.

From what I've been able to find out for everyone to have access to the same tables i need to put
them on the server in a shared directory. and because it is on the server in the shared directory
it is available for anyone on the network to do what ever they want with the file (including
stealing the information for their own use).

Can anyone tell me if it's possible to hide this file or better yet prefent any user from doing
anything except read and write to these tables???

I'm hoping i don't have to redo this pretty extensive program i've created...

also if this isn't possible how do larger companies protect their data when their users are using
applications based on msaccess???

tks

 

[Scott McDaniel]

First, realise that anything built by man can be compromised by man ... no
computer files are truly secure, since given enough time, motivation and
expertise any file can be hacked.

You can't protect your Access file from being copied. Your users must have
read/write access to the file and folder(s) associated with those files;
therefore you cannot stop users from copying the file. You can implement
User Level Security and make things a little more difficult, and do all
sorts of "tricks" like encrypting your data, renaming the file extension,
etc etc but in the end you are still left with a file that can be copied by
anyone to whom you have granted access (and that would be all users of you
application).

To protect your data you would need to move it to a more secure environment,
like Microsoft SQL Server, where you can protect your data. You can leave
your frontend in Access (although you would likely want to rework certain
things to improve performance, like using Stored Procedures) and link to the
tables there. Access includes an upsizing wizard, although many find it less
than acceptable (you may also try the Data Transformation Service to import
your data).

Regarding your question about other companies and their data, many comanies
do not realise the issues that come with storing their data in Access.
People simply assume that their data is secure ... or they move their data
to SQL Server, Oracle, etc etc ...