NTFS Permissions

Access flags are your only choice for controlling how files or folders are used with FAT, but NTFS allows you to control the way files are used with both access flags and NTFS permissions. NTFS permissions provide granular control over the way files and folders are used. When you strip away all the needless stuff you really shouldn't worry about, NTFS permissions boil down to these five things:

Basic permissions
Top-level permissions that you can assign to user and group accounts

Special permissions
Low-level permissions that you can assign to user and group accounts

Ownership permissions
Permissions that identify a file or folder's highest permission holder

Inherited permissions
Permissions that are inherited from the folder in which a file or folder is stored

Effective permissions
Permissions in effect for a particular user or group based on the combination of all permissions assigned to that user or group

You assign basic permissions and other permissions to the various user and group accounts available on your computer or on your network. Accounts on your computer include those accounts created by the operating system as well as accounts you've created. Local accounts on your computer are named using the following syntax:

This means that if your computer is named BrothersComputer and your user account is Bro, you'll see the account referenced as BrothersComputer\Bro.

Network accounts are named using the following syntax:

This means that if your workplace domain is TheOffice and your user account is Jack, you'll see the account referenced as TheOffice\Jack.

If you want to manage permissions for multiple users, you will typically do this using group accounts. Your computer has several standard group accounts, including Administrators and Users. Any user that is a member of your computer's Administrators group has administrator access permissions on your computer. Any user that is a member of your computer's Users group has user access permissions on your computer. On a domain, your network has Administrators and Users groups that apply to the entire network as well.