Use access control to restrict who can use your files
Windows XP Professional gives you control over who can read or change your files
Published: August 24, 2001 | Updated: December 20, 2005
You run a small business and have a network set up so that your employees can share files and printers. Your computer network helps your company run more efficiently—your employees can easily share data with each other and don't have to e-mail files back and forth. However, like most small businesses, you also have information on your network that you don't want to share with the entire office, such as payroll records, financial spreadsheets, and personnel data. Windows XP Professional gives you the ability to grant access to selected users while keeping others from accessing confidential files.
Setting permissions for files and folders
The access control feature in Windows XP Professional allows you to set a file or folder's access permissions for a specific user, computer, or group of users. When you set permissions, you define the type and level of access granted to a user or group for a particular file or folder. For example, you can grant Read and Write permissions to the entire Finance group for the file payroll.dat. You can let one user read the contents of a file, let another user make changes to the file, and prevent all other users from accessing the file at all. To change permissions on a file or folder, you must be the owner of that file or folder, or you must have permission to make such changes. You can also set similar permissions on printers so that selected users can configure the printer and other users can only print from it.
Group permissions and Full Control
You may find it easier to assign permissions to groups rather than to individual users—this saves you from having to maintain access control for each user. You can also allow a group (or individual) full access to the file or folder, rather than selecting individual types of access permissions. To do this, select the Full Control option when setting permissions. Then, you can just select Deny for any type of access you want to exclude for the group (or individual).
The type of permissions you can grant depends on the type of object. For example, the permissions for a file are different from those for a registry key. Some types of permissions are common, including:
| • | Read permissions |
| • | Modify permissions |
| • | Change owner |
| • | Delete |
To set, view, change, or remove file and folder permissions:
1. | Open Windows Explorer. (Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer.) |
2. | Locate the file or folder that you will be adding permissions to. |
3. | Right-click the file or folder, click Properties, and then click the Security tab. (If you do not see the Security tab, you may not be joined to a domain. See To display the Security tab.) 
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4. | Next, choose the group or user name. | • | If you need to add a group or user, click Add. Type the name of the group or user for which you want to set permissions, and then click OK. (When you add a new user or group, this user or group will have Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, and Read permissions by default.) | | • | If the group or user is already listed, click the name of the group or user. | | • | To remove a group or user from the Group or user names dialog box, click the group or user name you want to remove and click Remove. |
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5. | Now that you have selected the group or user, you can adjust their permissions: | • | To allow or deny a type of permission, select the Allow or Deny check box in the Permissions for User or Group dialog box. |
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6. | If the check boxes under Permissions for User or Group are shaded, or if the Remove button is unavailable, then the file or folder has inherited permissions from the parent folder. Access rights set up for the parent folder carry down to its subfolders. |
To display the Security tab
| • | Open Folder Options in Control Panel. (Click Start, click Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes, and then click Folder Options.) |
| • | On the View tab, under Advanced settings, clear the Use simple file sharing [Recommended] check box. |
By using the access control feature available in Windows XP Professional, you can help ensure that only the people you want to access the files and folders on your network are able to get to them.
