Encrypting Files before setting up DRA...

[Guest]

I encrypted over 200 files before I setup a DRA. Will the DRA be able to
unencrypt these 200 files?

Thanks, DJ

 

[Steven L Umbach]

Try using cipher /U . Use cipher /? to see the description of the cipher
syntax. Make sure you have copies of your and RA EFS certificate AND private
key external media in a password protected .pfx file for safekeeping. You
can use efsinfo to see if the RA shows or not .--- Steve

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;223316 --- EFS best
practices.

 

[Guest]

I'm finding out my one and only DRA can open my 200 files without updating my
files with the Cipher /U command. Why is this?

I couldn't believe it, so I started over this morning and created a brand
new OS install. Setup a new local user named Joe and logged in as Joe .
Created a new directory and encrypted 200 files in this directory.

Logged off and and logged in as Administrator. Created a DRA (ex: Cipher
/r:Filename, imported certificate and private key into the local certificate
store, Ran gpedit and added DRA.). After this, I tried to unencrypt the
directory while logged in as Administrator and it let me!!! Why is this? It
shouldn't allow me to decrypt 200 files that were encrypted before a DRA was
created.

I don't get this crap. Many articles state that you have to create the DRA
before encrypting the files so that the DRA can decrypt them. If you don't
then, you need to run cipher /u to update the encrypted files so that the
newly created DRA will work with older encrypted files.

In my case, I created the DRA after the files were already encrypted and
"never" ran a cipher /u. Does anybody know what could cause this?

Thanks, DJ

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