krs9613 said:
If I configured everything and it is registered to my user name and
someone
else with Admin rights uses the same pc, how do I keep them from being
able
to view my files?
If it's XP Home, there's ultimately no way to do this with the tools XP
provides, while storing the data on the local drive.
You can set your folders to private, which will prevent others from
wandering in, but they can still take ownership from an admin account and
take your files. Of course, you're going to know about that later when you
no longer have access to them. But anybody who seriously wants your data
can have it if they have physical access to the disk with the data.
If it's XP Pro, you have the option of encryption. However, that's a
double-edged sword because the things one might try to do to get at the data
can change the account enough to keep *anyone*, including you, from ever
getting access to it - unless you complete the process and export the
account credentials, and store those safely after verifying them. Be sure
to read the directions thoroughly, and understand what you are doing and its
implications.
There are also 3rd party encryption tools that don't rely on the user
account credentials, and so may - or may not - be less vulnerable to total
loss.
There are two things you can do to be sure. One is to not keep the data on
that machine; use a removable drive and always take it with you. Be aware
that USB thumb drives do fail, so if you haven't got a copy of the data,
when the drive goes so does your data.
The other is to not share the machine, and fully secure it.
That said, I generally find that when people are taking strong measures to
protect data, and they aren't in a medical, legal or financial field where
there's a legislated requirement to protect other people's personal
information, they're hiding something.
So when the person you aren't trusting realizes there's a wall, they are
going to form ideas about what's on the other side of it.
And that's a whole other issue, and no amount of configuration or encryption
will protect you from its consequences.
HTH
-pk
