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Encrypt the local copy of remote files

Windows 2000 ships with a feature called Offline Files that allows users to access files on a remote computer, even when the network connection is down.

The idea behind this technology is very simple: The operating system creates a copy of the network file on the local computer, and when the network connection is down, it uses the local copy. When the connection is up again, it synchronizes the files.

Windows XP Professional has the same technology, but with one additional feature—encryption. It allows you to encrypt the local copy of the remote files. Here's how:

1. Open Windows Explorer, select Tools, and then click Folder Options.
2. Go to the Offline Files tab. If you don't see any settings, follow the instructions on the dialog box and disable Fast User Switching. Once you do that, you'll see the settings.
3. Select Enable Offline Files.
4. Select Encrypt Offline Files To Secure Data.
5. Click OK.

The files will be encrypted with the Encrypted File System (EFS). If you use FAT or FAT32, you won't be able to encrypt the files. EFS is available only on Windows XP Professional partitions that are formatted with NTFS.