any way to decrypt files in WinXP?

[SWScorch]

I have some folders encrypted under Windows XP. I was having some problems recently, so I formatted the C drive and reinstalled Windows. Like a dunce, I forgot to back up the encryption key, so I can't access the folders now. Is there any way to regain access? MS Support says something about a Recovery Agent, but I don't recall anything like that, and plus. the drive XP was installed on was wiped clean. Any way to get back at my pr0- err, I mean, files?

 

[Nothinman]

If it was easy to defeat the encryption wouldn't that render it useless?

 

[SWScorch]

Yeah, but Windows has so many holes in it I didn't expect this to be any different.

 

[phisrow]

My understanding of the situation is that you are pretty much out of luck. A Data Recovery Agent is an account, typically a domain administrator, that has been empowered to decrypt the files on a standalone machine. If you did nominate a DRA for those files, you ought to be able to import that account's certificate and decrypt through that. It doesn't sound like you did so, however(and WinXP, by default, has no DRAs; this sort of thing is mostly a corporate IT trick). Generally speaking, though, while MS has loads of exciting holes, they seem to be able to produce adequate implimentations of publicly known good cryptographic algorithms(those hilariously weak lanman hashes, quite excepted).
If you really, really fancy your files, it is far from impossible that you could get the deleted data recovered professionally and then just use the recoverd certificate. Magnetic media doesn't really "delete" as absolutely as one might like; but that particular solution doesn't promise results and does promise to get wildly pricey rather fast.
I think you may be out of luck on this one.

 

[Kasper4christ]

read the sticky...
silly..

 

[AndyHui]

You know, there's a really good reason why I wrote that sicky and FAQ at the top...

Yeah, but Windows has so many holes in it I didn't expect this to be any different

This is precisely what I was trying to address.

 

[Netopia]

Yeah... that sticky has been up there forever and answers the questions. OTOH, if you see something all the time you tend to not notice it any longer. But anyway.... like they said, there is a sticky post at the top of the OS forum on encryption and NTFS.

Joe

 

[stash]

Short answer: no.
Long answer: read the sticky.

 

[SWScorch]

Originally posted by: AndyHui
You know, there's a really good reason why I wrote that sicky and FAQ at the top...

Yeah, but Windows has so many holes in it I didn't expect this to be any different

This is precisely what I was trying to address.

You know what's weird? I thought I remembered a sticky on this subject in this forum from the last time I was in here, but I could swear it wasn't there when I posted, and nothing showed up on a search either. Oh well, the stuff isn't too terribly important. Thanks, and sorry for not seeing the sticky right under my nose

 

[Jeff7]

Hey, you can always keep the files somewhere safe until quantum computers become mainstream - they should be able to brute-force it and crack it in a few minutes.