NTFS Permissions Report Tool

NTFS stands for New Technology File System, which is what Windows uses for storing and organizing files. NTFS was first released by Microsoft in 1993 as part of Windows NT 3.1, and has been the primary file system for Windows OS since. It is also supported in Linux OS, and macOS has read-only NTFS support. 

NTFS can be used across spinning-disk drives, solid-state drives, USBs, and similar storage devices. Compared to the previous FAT32 file system, NTFS can offer better metadata support, more efficient data structuring, and better overall reliability. NTFS can restore file system consistency after a system failure, and tag bad sectors so they aren’t used. The NTFS file system also supports large partition sizes while controlling storage space based on disk quotas. 

NTFS is a journaling file system, so it logs information for files that have been added, removed, or modified. Files created with NTFS have both data (content) and metadata (a description of characteristics). Since any drive formatted with NTFS includes NTFS permissions, admins often use NTFS to control and manage access to files, folders, containers, and other objects on the network to support their system security efforts.

It’s important to understand and properly implement NTFS permissions to prevent access control issues. NTFS permissions can allow admins to limit user access to specific files, folders, directories, containers, and objects within Microsoft Windows environments. 

Admins can manually make changes to NTFS permissions by using the Security tab of a given object’s Properties menu. Under Group or User Names, choose the relevant entities, then choose to Allow or Deny various types of permissions. 

A common best practice is to not assign NTFS permissions to individual users, but instead assign permissions by Active Directory group. It can be easier to manage NTFS permissions by ensuring users are in the correct user group, then set NTFS permissions for each group according to the appropriate category of access.

Categories of NTFS access permissions include:

• Full Control: This gives users full permission to add, move, or delete files, plus the ability to modify their properties. Additionally, users can change associated permissions settings.
• Read & Execute: Users can run executable files and scripts.
• Modify: Users can modify files and their characteristics. They can add or delete files as well. 
• Read: Users can only view files and their properties. 
• Write: Users can write to a file or add files to a folder.

However, making manual changes and setting NTFS permissions for every directory can take up valuable time.

User rights apply to user accounts, which can include individual users or groups. NTFS permissions are attached to objects. However, when users attempt to access objects, their level of access can be controlled by both user rights and NTFS permissions. 

For example, NTFS permissions for a specific file may only allow Read access for Group 1, so users assigned to Group 1 will inherit the rights of the group and only have Read access to that file.

NTFS permissions report tools gather data from across your file system, tracking permissions settings for relevant files and folders. IT admins are often tasked with providing a list of share permissions granted to individual users and various groups. Without the help of an automated tool, this task can require hours of manual effort and be prone to errors. 

An NTFS permissions report tool can allow admins to automatically monitor NTFS permissions, Active Directory, and Group Policy. These reports help admins see who has access to which resources, along with when access occurred, and what activity took place. An NTFS permissions report tool can also provide an overview of current permissions settings to help flag insecure or misconfigured settings. 

Access Rights Manager enables you to run a range of reports to demonstrate compliance and monitor security, including NTFS permissions reports and Active Directory folder permissions reports. By utilizing the Documentation and Reporting section, admins can use out-of-the-box templates or create customizable reports by easily adding a report title, defining a range for the report, and report settings. 

Reports can show a number of key details depending on the focus of the report. For example, ARM is designed to run reports for account details, inactive accounts, direct permissions, permission groups, “everyone” permissions, historical access rights, and much more. Additionally, ARM allows you to schedule reports to automatically run and be sent to managers, auditors, and other stakeholders. Admins can also leverage reports to trigger actions, such as automatically modifying or deleting permissions settings. 

• Simplify NTFS Permissions Management
• Active Directory Reporting Tool
• Active Directory Auditing Tool
• Active Directory Management Tool
• Active Directory Groups Management
• Active Directory Permissions Reporting
• Active Directory File Permissions
• OneDrive Permissions Monitoring
• SharePoint Permissions Management
• SharePoint Audit Tool
• Exchange Auditing Software
• Exchange Management Tool
• File Server Auditing