Add the Security tab under Windows XP Home Edition

Windows XP Professional Edition has a very interesting function that allows you to protect folder or file access by limiting user’s access to these folders.

This function appears in form of a tab called “Security” that is viewable in the properties of a file or folder.

Windows XP Home Edition does not posses this small option that is quite useful!

This tip will explain how you can easily activate this option that is not available by default. You should also remember that this option is only available on your system if the drives are formatted in NTFS (to convert your file system from FAT32 to NTFS you can read this tip).

Now you will need to download the “Security Configuration Manager” (2.68 MB) program that is available from the Microsoft site.

You should be aware that you don’t need to run this program, but simply unzip it to a folder of your choice by using a program like Winzip or Winace.
This program is actually provided under Windows NT4 (!) and will therefore refuse to install under Windows XP.

Once it has been unzipped, you will need to find the “Setup.inf file.
Right click on this file and select the “Install” option.

The installation will start and will copy files into your System32 folder.

Note that while the installation is underway, the following window should appear if you are using an English version of Windows XP:

Be Careful! You will need to click “No”.

Like magic, the “Security” tab should now appear and be available on your Windows XP Home Edition.