cant access encrypted files

bigdan

Daemon Poster
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I had to move some files from my work to home laptop. I used a USB. When I was copying files it said it had to encrypt these files and made me choose a password. I did so.

When I brought this USB home it didn't ask me for a password for some reason. I plugged it in. I see all my files, but they all have an xlm extension. So for example Bank.xls is not Bank.xls.xlm and Accounts.txt is now Accounts.txt.xlm

Not sure what happened here. When I try opening these files they open in IE (Chrome is my default) and I can't read them coherently. I tried manually changing the extension, that doesn't do it.

Can anyone advise?
 
hello, I assume you are using windows?
do you mean XML ? I've never heard of xlm extensions

Right-click on the encrypted file, click properties, click the "general" tab, under that click 'advanced" , then untick the checkbox "Encrypt contents to secure data". Click "OK".

Hope this helps?
 
Thanks!

Yes you're right, XML.

I'm on Windows 7. I went to Properties, General, but there was no Advanced there. No Encrypt checkbox either. For attributes I see Readonly, Hidden, Archive. Only Archive is checked.
 
Thanks!

This didn't work for me either. For the most part it was but I got stuck on Step 5 where it asked me to click on my user name. There were 2 items I could've selected but neither felt right.

But I'm also wondering if I was on the right section in the first place. There's an Exporting section and an Importing one. Which should I be following?

To be clear I backed up the files but now don't have access to that laptop. I want to restore them. So I'd be doing everything on the destination computer, not the source.
 
The instructions about importing and exporting i believe, whatever computer you use yhis encrypted file on for, the decryption method should be the same... as the encryption file contains the key

What issue arised with step 5? Could you post a screenshot ? Ps no experience with this issue, am learning myself
 
Sorry about the delay.

Just to be clear, I didn't use this same procedure when I was backing up the stuff to my USB. There was an auto-popup at that point saying this data will be encrypted.

Anyway so I assume I'm supposed to go to the Importing section of the link you gave me. When I went there I did the first step fine and ran "mmc". However it then said to expand Certificates - but in the console window that had opened up I didnt have that option.

Attaching screenshot:
https://imgur.com/a/nHuHYIk
 
Since you set a password, I believe you still do the same instructions, since it is the file yu're trying to decrypt.
 
If your work laptop was requiring the files be encrypted you need to know what application did the encryption. If it wasn't Windows that same program will need to decrypt the files on your home laptop. For instance if I plug a flash drive into my work laptop Mcafee will tell me I need to encrypt the files. I can't transfer these files at home since I'm not using Mcaffee or their encryption/decryption process.
 
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