NTFS Secrets

Controlling user access to files and folders on a Windows system is a complicated process and requires a sophisticated mechanism to keep everything secure. The NTFS security model provides this mechanism and allows for strict control over how users read, write, and otherwise manipulate files on a system.

The complexities of NTFS permissions can be overwhelming, even for experienced administrators. Sometimes you set file or directory permissions and simply don’t get the results you expected based on what you've learned from classes or manuals. Let's look at some little-known facts about NTFS permissions that will give you a leg up in using these permissions to best advantage.

1. Stick with the 5 Standard File Permissions
NTFS provides 14 special permissions that determine exactly how a user can access a file. These permissions get very specific, so to simplify things, NTFS groups the 14 permissions into 5 standard—or generic—permissions, as Table 1 shows. These standard permissions, for example, let you grant a user Full Control to a file rather than having to grant each of the 14 special permissions. . . .