Removing the certificate encrypting all new files from the computer.

Question

PL Jakiś czas temu nie wiem jak, zainstalowałem certyfikat który szyfruje mi każdy nowy plik który pobieram lub przenoszę na mój komputer. Jest to strasznie irytujące i boję się że jeżeli coś się stanie to stracę dostęp do moich plików. Chcę usunąć ten certyfikat. EFS wyłączyłem ale i tak nadal nowe pliki są szyfrowane. Certyfikat ma ważność do 2123 roku więc teoretycznie jest dożywotni. Proszę o pomoc.

ANG Some time ago, I don't know how, I installed a certificate that encrypts every new file I download or transfer to my computer. This is terribly irritating and I'm afraid that if something happens, I will lose access to my files. I want to delete this certificate. I turned off EFS, but new files are still encrypted. The certificate is valid until 2123, so theoretically it is for life. Please help.

Answer 1

Hello Jakub Świętuchowski, Thank you for posting in Q&A forum. As I understand, your machine is in a workgroup, am I right?

If so, you can try to check the certificate you installed.

Open Certmgr.msc and check if there is a EFS certificate under Certificates - Current User\Personal\Certificates container.

If so, this certificate should issue to your account (you can see the column "Issued To").

And find the same certificate on folder or file (check thumbprint). For example:

And you can try to export this certificate with private key to one location (I mean you can back up this certificate before you delete it from personal store).

At last, you can decrypt all the folders and all the files by right clicking folder or file (or root folders) and uncheck the option "Encrypt contents to secure data".

If steps above work, and then you can delete the certificate in personal store above. I hope information above is helpful. If you have any question or concern, please feel free to let us know. Best Regards, Daisy Zhou

---

If the Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.