external security

[jblue42]

Hello, I have a question about external Hard Drives. Say I have some files i want to protect on the external HD, and these files have never been on my primary HD. Is there any way for someone to access these files, or see what files are on the external drive, when it isn't even plugged in?

In essence, what I'm asking is if windows xp keeps a log of what is on the external drive, or even if there is a way to access the files from a cache or something in windows, when the external HD is gone.

 

[Snugglebear]

Windows doesn't look at all the files unless you have indexing turned on. Otherwise it just records what files you access, when you accessed them, with what, etc. You'll need a wiping application to remove the logs on a regular basis. There are dozens of these apps/security suites out there and I don't have any meaningful recomendations. Some are pretty expensive, others are untrustworthy. Look forward to a lot of reading if you want get up to speed and lock your stuff down.

 

[Ice Czar]

Originally posted by jblue42
In essence, what I'm asking is if windows xp keeps a log of what is on the external drive, or even if there is a way to access the files from a cache or something in windows, when the external HD is gone.

http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/244/
http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/1048/ (from your machine)
http://www.ntfs.com/ntfs-encrypted.htm (make sure to backup the certificates)

consider real encryption EFS is very weak