Troubleshooting: PGP NetShare Folder Protection

Products

• Symantec Products

Issue/Introduction

After moving a protected folder with files to a new location, the folder itself is no longer protected even though the files within it are.

 

Cause

PGP NetShare attempts to retain encryption even when the Protected Folder is moved to another location. In some situations, such as creating a copy of a folder in the same location or copying a large folder from a network share, the folder might lose its protection. The files in the folder retain their protected status, but the folder itself may lose its PGP NetShare information, and thus lose its PGP icon as well.
 

 

Resolution

You will achieve the greatest security if you always work within a protected folder; PGP Corporation recommends that when you need to copy a folder, you should first create a Protected Folder as your destination. Whenever you move files from a PGP NetShare protected folder to another protected folder, your environment will remain protected.

If you have copied a folder to an unprotected location, as a best practice, check the folder status as described in the PGP Desktop User Guide under Checking Folder Status to ensure the folder and files are encrypted.

If the folder is not encrypted, do the following:

 

1. If your PGP NetShare permissions allow you to do so, create a new protected folder at the destination as described in Creating a New PGP NetShare Protected Folder in the PGP Desktop User Guide.
2. Copy the contents of the folder that has lost its protection into the new protected folder.
3. Import the access list of the old folder into the new folder as described in the PGP Desktop User Guide under Importing PGP NetShare Access Lists.