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Encryption:
The first time you encrypt a folder or file, an encryption certificate is automatically created. You should back up your encryption certificate. If your certificate and key are lost or damaged and you don't have a backup, you won't be able to use the files that you have encrypted. For more information, see Back up Encrypting File System (EFS) certificate.
Note You must be the original user who encrypted the folder or a designated recovery agent for the folder to follow these steps. If you are not authorized to remove encryption, you receive the following error message:
Error Applying Attributes
An error occurred applying attributes to the file:
Path:\\Filename
Access is denied
To remove encryption from a folder, follow these steps:
1. Use Windows Explorer to locate the encrypted folder that you want to decrypt.
2. Right-click the folder, and then click Properties.
3. On the General tab, click Advanced.
4. Click to clear the Encrypt contents to secure data check box, click OK, and then click OK again.
5. When you are prompted to confirm the attribute change:
If you want to decrypt only the folder, click Apply the changes to this folder only, and then click OK.
If you want to decrypt the folder and its subfolders and files, click Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files, and then click OK.
If EFS was enabled and you wiped the drive containing the keys, without making a proper backup of those keys, you can kiss any encrypted data good bye. EFS is very good at what it does and there are NO back doors.