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No 'security' tab is visible when I right-click a folder to set permissions for it
Question
I don't see a 'security' tab when I right-click a folder in Windows Explorer. I'm trying to set permissions but can't see the security tab I need to set these from.
Answer
If you have Windows XP Pro, your hard drive is formatted as NTFS which means you can set permissions on files so that only users you specify can access them. However, if your Windows XP computer is not part of a domain on a network, you may notice that there is no 'security' tab when you right-click a file and choose 'properties'.
This is because the default for XP computers that are part of a domain is to have the tab visible, but machines that are not part of a domain (i.e. stand-alone or only part of a workgroup) hide this as default.
To reveal the 'security' tab, open Windows Explorer, and choose 'Folder Options' from the 'Tools' menu. On the 'View' tab, scroll to the bottom of the 'Advanced Settings' and uncheck the box next to "Use Simple File Sharing." Click OK to apply the change, and you should now have a 'security' tab when viewing the properties of a file or folder on an NTFS volume.