GSEC · Question #7
Users at the Marketing department are receiving their new Windows XP Professional workstations. They will need to maintain local work files in the first logical volume, and will use a second volume fo
The correct answer is A. Both volumes should be converted to NTFS at install time.. Both volumes should use NTFS because it provides file-level access control and security descriptors that FAT32 lacks, making it the only appropriate choice for both personal and shared Windows XP volumes.
Question
Users at the Marketing department are receiving their new Windows XP Professional workstations. They will need to maintain local work files in the first logical volume, and will use a second volume for the information shared between the area group. Which is the best file system design for these workstations?
Options
- ABoth volumes should be converted to NTFS at install time.
- BFirst volume should be FAT32 and second volume should be NTFS.
- CFirst volume should be EFS and second volume should be FAT32.
- DBoth volumes should be converted to FAT32 with NTFS DACLs.
How the community answered
(64 responses)- A80% (51)
- B6% (4)
- C11% (7)
- D3% (2)
Why each option
Both volumes should use NTFS because it provides file-level access control and security descriptors that FAT32 lacks, making it the only appropriate choice for both personal and shared Windows XP volumes.
NTFS supports Discretionary Access Control Lists (DACLs) that allow granular per-file and per-folder permissions, which are required to protect both private local files and shared group files. Converting both volumes to NTFS at install time ensures security controls are applied from the start without requiring data migration later. FAT32 cannot enforce any file-level access restrictions, leaving data on either volume unprotected against unauthorized local access.
FAT32 on the first volume offers no file-level security or DACL support, so personal work files stored there would be unprotected against other users on the same machine.
EFS (Encrypting File System) is not a standalone file system - it is an encryption feature that operates on top of NTFS and cannot be selected as a volume format.
FAT32 volumes do not support NTFS DACLs - NTFS access control is a native feature of the NTFS file system and cannot be applied to FAT32-formatted volumes.
Concept tested: NTFS vs FAT32 security and access control capabilities
Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/ntfs-overview
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