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Private Folder 1.0, which is saved to a person's desktop, aims to shield private data from others when they have access to someone's computer or account. The potential fallout from IT administrators remains to be seen, should their colleagues opt to hide sensitive data in a private, password-protected folder. Microsoft does not offer support for the software.
"Private Folder 1.0 is a useful tool...to protect your private data when friends, colleagues, kids or other people share your PC or account," the software giant said in its announcement.
People who want to download the software are first required to run their computers through the Windows Genuine Advantage program. The controversial antipiracy tool is designed to verify that people have a legitimate copy of Microsoft Windows.
Those using the software also must have Windows XP Home Edition, Professional Edition or Media Center Edition, with Service Pack 2. The software also needs a high-resolution Super VGA video adapter and monitor to work properly.
Some observers are raising concerns about the potential headaches Private Folder may create for IT administrators.
"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," said an individual named Stuart Graham in a posting on MSBlog, a site related to Windows Server 2003.
Another individual, Daniel Goldleaf, said on MSBlog that companies should have terms of usage for corporate PCs that instruct employees not to download software onto their systems.
"If they install (Private Folder), uninstall it from Add/Remove Programs," Goldleaf added.
See more CNET content tagged:
IT administrator, folder, Microsoft Corp., password, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Probably another time. M$ isn't first with such applications and I'd rather say they are late in the whole encryption euphoria.
*BSD/Linux/MacOSX had that for ages. Free, w/o strings, w/o any kind of quirks requiring you to run outdated stuff like "Internet Explorer" just to install it.
And an idiotic statement about being late. Windows has had apps to do this for just as long as those you mention. And this one is free, no strings, no quarks, and requiring nothing but a legit copy of XP
This is fine for the shared computer at home. I can see some benefits there. But, anyone installing this in the Enterprise should be fired on the spot.
No wonder they gave it away for free.
on laptops to be encrypted in case the laptop is stolen.
Plenty of uses in the enterprise to keep the business honest.
If you want file/folder encryption for XP from a 3rd party with no backdoor, try Truecrypt.
Nevertheless, just because XP Home does not have EFS enabled it does not mean it lacks all the security features that Prof has.
Stripping the Encryption bit from XP Home was the right thing to do since there isn?t a valid business case. Corporate users have more use for EFS since they store a lot of confidential data in their file system.
http://www.infosrama.com/digitalseeker/2006/07/microsoft-private-folder-released.html
Harsh
(this has been available in other forms for years now), claiming it
will help you keep your stuff private. Let's forget for the moment
that it's done my Micro$loth, meaning it will be hackable by any
uneducated 12 year old within minutes. Let's instead focus on
the fact that it requires WGD, which violates your privacy by
reporting the contents of your computer back to M$.
You can have privacy, but you first must relinquish all privacy
rights to us.
Douglas Adams himself (rest his soul) couldn't have come up
with something more ironic.
Yeah, I'll trust you M$. Just as soon as you are open source and
running a Linux core. And pay back all your customers for
putting up with your crapware for decades.
Apple fanboys are as ignorant as it can get!
You know, if Google or Firefox had come out with this, you KNOW the attitude towards the product in both the article and the comments would have been very different. People would be singing the praises of Google's concern for people's privacy, and then probably take a few digs at the US government to boot. It definately shows the double standard with how MS is treated in the media vs other companies.
'norton secret'...did just that, password files or folders.!
Nothing new here!!!!
I could be wrong, but I believe Norton Secret is not on the Symantec site anymore.
Why would I trust a company like MS? They prove they cant be trusted over and over.
I guess they were too busy nailing non-OS functions to the OS to do this 5 years ago.
So MS is yet again decades behind, and can't even get it right. This is not news but standard operating procedure at MS.
"So MS is coming out with a half-assed implementation of something it should have had all along?"
What do you mean "should have had"? Didn't you know you can encrypt folders in XP? (Refer to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308989)
"So MS is yet again decades behind, and can't even get it right."
Can't even get it right? How so? Give us some example. Did you try it?
M$ is doing ________. Yet another half-assed implementation of _______. They should have quit long ago. They never do anything right and are always decades behind. Everything M$ does is garbage. This is not news; anything that deals with M$ is not news. Windows is and always will be a lame OS. Microsoft is pathetic. The M$ infedels must die.
They give the user something that seems handy, knowing full well that home and corporate users would be hard pressed to refuse free software for securing their files and folders. The user installs software that's supposed to help them and loads Microsoft's killswitch at the same time.
The fact that they aren't offering support for the software only adds credence to the notion that it's a quick and dirty tactic that's being used to disperse WGA before the public gets to realise what's happening. News that Microsoft is offering a tool to protect your files from prying eyes with a quick download will certainly spread faster than techie discussion on whether WGA can and will disable a PC.
Looks like Redmond has something to hide by distributing WGA this way.
This certainly sounds fishy.
Seems like no matter what Microsoft does some jerk finds fault with it and blames them for it even when Microsoft had nothing to do with the downloading or installation of it.
Pathetic!
Robert
It's not like Microsoft has committed a sacrilege by releasing a free and unsupported software -- this is nothing new; thousands of companies are doing just that every single day.
Anyone complaining about this specific case is just one of population of retards on the "MS-bashing-is-my-life" bandwagon.
In addition, I don't need any bored computer techs browsing my private life. <grin>
Password protection of file folders is something that should have been included in the original version of WinXPhome.
www.truecrypt.com
- this isn't a new concept, by any means.
- this isn't even necessary, since you can get better encryption
for free (really free, not just "you don't need to send money"
free).
- there is no logical reason for this ... except to push their WGA
trashware onto dumb users.
Sorry Micro$loth, I'm not buying. WGA is a trashy gutter
prostitute which isn't welcome on my machine. Tie whatever you
want to it, I promise you that Linux won't demand WGA!
- Nice, Sorta Pointless
- by larrymadill July 12, 2006 1:20 PM PDT
- Its nice, not thrilling, just nice. Having a handy place to place private files. Kind of wonder how much use the average user will get out of it. Reminds me of the complete useless 'Briefcase'.
- Reply to this comment
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(63 Comments)Seems like the only immediate effect it will have is to frustate the IT Nazis down the hall and pull them away from a discussion of which is better, Superman Returns or Pirates of the Caribbean 2, to unistall the thing on everyone's workstation.