This article describes how to temporarily disable the PGP Netshare driver without permanently disabling the PGP Netshare functionality.
PGP NetShare enables specific users to share protected files in a shared space, such as on a corporate file server, in a shared folder, or on removable media such as a USB drive.
The PGP NetShare driver controls how PGP NetShare protected folders are handled when the shares are accessed. When PGP Desktop is installed, and a user attempts to access a PGP NetShare encrypted folder, PGP NetShare performs a user lookup to validate the user and authenticate with the folder.
If a user does not have access to a specific PGP NetShare folder, and PGP NetShare is installed on the system, a notification pop-up displays a Access Denied message.
In some instances, a process may run on the system (such as a backup job) that may need to access a PGP NetShare protected folder and is denied access because the folder is protected. To backup files in a PGP NetShare encrypted folder, it may be necessary to temporarily disable the PGP NetShare driver to access the protected folder. Even though the PGP NetShare driver is disabled the contents of the folder remain encrypted.
When the PGP NetShare driver is temporarily disabled, access to an encrypted folder is not denied and the contents remain encrypted. The PGP NetShare driver can be temporarily disabled and re-enabled from the command line.
To disable/enable the PGP NetShare driver
-set-driver
The -set-driver command sets the condition of the PGP NetShare driver on the local system. The default setting is active.
Caution: Change the condition on the command line if you fully understand how it will affect PGP NetShare Command Line operation. |
The condition of the driver is set by the following options:
By setting the PGP NetShare driver to passive, the files in the protected folder remain encrypted by PGP NetShare without affecting other PGP services on the local system. Any new files are added to a PGP NetShare protected folder while the driver is set to passive will not be encrypted.
The usage format is:
pgpnetshare --set-driver <Option>
Where: Example:
pgpnetshare --set-driver active
This command sets the PGP NetShare driver to an active state.
pgpnetshare --set-driver passive
This command sets the PGP NetShare driver to an passive state.
When the command is run successfully, the command line returns the output pgpnetshare done.
Warning: Only use this functionality when needed. When the PGP NetShare driver is set to passive, any content created or copied from the computer which the PGP NetShare is disabled on to the PGP NetShare protected folder will be copied to the folder unencrypted. Ensure the PGP NetShare driver is set to active once the process is run for encryption to resume. |
Use the following steps to disable the PGP NetShare driver:
Windows XP
When the command is run successfully, the command line returns the output pgpnetshare done.
Windows Vista & Windows 7
When the command is run successfully, the command line returns the output pgpnetshare done.