Protected Folders Win10 1709

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by Brian K, Oct 18, 2017.

  1. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    I've enabled Protected Folders but I can't copy/paste files inside the protected folder. I can if I temporarily disable Protected Folders. How is it done?
     
  2. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    In my testing it just worked. The only time the protected folder did anything was when I tried to run an installer that was trying to place files in those folders. Recognized processes should be able to access them without issue. I would assume the copy/paste you were doing was with the built in File Explorer?
     
  3. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Thanks for the info. It works now after a restart. Yes, with File Explorer.
     
  4. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Well this is an invitation to the ransomware folks. All but a few Microsoft programs can access that folder how long will it be before the bad guys figure out it will easy to get into that folder. That isn't very good protection
     
  5. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Pete, so far I've had to allow....

    outlook.exe
    imagew.exe
    imagew64.exe
    tbosdtw.exe
    ccleaner.exe
    everything.exe
    firefox.exe
    explorer.exe
    notepad.exe
    cmd.exe
    keepass.exe
    popman.exe
     
  6. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Depending on how critical data is I'd do very frequent back ups into the secure folder and just protect the backup program. I wouldn't allow access to any common windows utility.
     
  7. NiteRanger

    NiteRanger Registered Member

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    I have Emsisoft AM installed but I can't find the Windows Controlled Access Folder feature

    Is this right? Thanks
     
  8. Azure Phoenix

    Azure Phoenix Registered Member

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  9. mantra

    mantra Registered Member

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    hi
    how can i protect folders
    today i got the last w10 update
     
  10. summerheat

    summerheat Registered Member

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    It's explained in this article.
     
  11. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    Interesting. That's way more work than I had to do.
    Per the dialog in Windows Defender:
    "Most of your apps will be allowed by Controlled folder access without added them here. Apps determined by Microsoft as friendly are always allowed."
    That was pretty much my experience. Most things just worked. The only thing I had blocked was the software we develop and use here internally. I was surprised that it allowed as much as it did. I expect this to be a "more trouble than it is worth" solution until I see evidence otherwise because I think it will be too easy to circumvent.
     
  12. Brummelchen

    Brummelchen Registered Member

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    futile feature - worth: nothing.
    windows uses blacklist administrated by defender - user can add whitelist entries.
    windows itself locks out several system apps - in fact this feature can be worse for (these) apps, settings and anything else.

    and in case of trojans or ransomware (this is the main reason for feature) it absolute fake security.
    forget it and use a decent backup strategy.
     
  13. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    I've turned it off. Too much work for a dubious gain.
     
  14. oliverjia

    oliverjia Registered Member

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    LOL
    wise choice. I've made a shift to Ubuntu and EXT4 file systems. Much more smooth experiences so far.
     
  15. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    oliverjia,

    On a GPT or MBR disk?
     
  16. Arvy

    Arvy Registered Member

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    Sounds like it might be a reasonable "built-in" alternative to installing Macrium MIG or other anti-ransomware protection for backup files alone, but what's your opinion about its comparative effectiveness as a security measure?
     
  17. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Hi Arvy

    I use an Excubits driver pumpernickel to protect the other drives. It black black list the whole drive. Then Macrium is allowed to only access macrium files. Same with other programs. Heck if I want I can even black list the Macrium program files, and only allow Macrium access to then. It is solid protection provide by a kernel driver, and there is no service or gui program that can be comprised.
     
  18. Arvy

    Arvy Registered Member

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  19. oliverjia

    oliverjia Registered Member

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    Installed Ubuntu in UEFI full disk mode, so it should be a GPT disk..
    I customized the partition so that it only has EFI system partition and / partition. No Linux Swap as the RAM is larger than 8GB.
     
  20. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Is that current thinking? I've always wondered why folks used large Swap with Linux.
     
  21. oliverjia

    oliverjia Registered Member

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    Not quite sure about others - I think even if people only has 4GB of RAM, it's still safe to eliminate Linux swap partition. Overall Linux is not as memory hungry as Windows. But the default full disk installation by Ubuntu installer still will create a Swap partition, which I think is not really necessary nowadays.
    Also, it'll do more harm than good for a Swap partition on SSD, which is another reason I did not use a Linux Swap partition.
     
  22. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    I'll try without a Swap next time.
     
  23. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    I tried this for about 5 minutes. I also got a block from Firefox as well as Enpass. Can you allow the program from the prompt?
     
  24. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Krusty,

    See post #5

    You have to navigate to firefox.exe.
     
  25. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    Thanks Brian. That's not very user friendly so I think I'll pass. Why couldn't MS give you a way to allow from within the prompt? Seems like a pretty big oversight to me.
     
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