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As a developper I need to create a folder within a customer' server and I need to be sure that they wont be able to access that particular folder's content even if they are administrator or in any other way !

I thought about this particular solution :

  1. They create a local administrator account for my company.
  2. I change the password so they cannot login anymore with that account.
  3. I set the security settings on that folder to accept only interaction through my administrator account !

Is it possible ? My concerns are that if they are able to create my administrator account, they will still have the opportunity to give themselves the rights to read my folder (by giving themselves the security rights or changing my password or anything I didn't think to)... I'm afraid they could manage to get to that folder through another administrator account or anything like that...

If so, what would be the best solution to secure the access to this folder ?

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    There's something fundamentally offensive about a developer trying to limit an administrator's rights on their own machine.
    – John Gardeniers
    Oct 24, 2012 at 10:08
  • @JohnGardeniers What if your customer wants you to run your application on their server and you don't them to sneek into your application folder ? What if you want to host a website on a customer server without letting them looking at your source code ? If I could simply use my own server, I would...
    – Andy M
    Oct 24, 2012 at 11:32
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    Then it's time to learn about securing your application and use encryption for the data, just as others do. The last thing an administrator wants to do is to lose control of his/her server, even if it is only a single folder. Amongst other issues, we wouldn't be able to back up that data.
    – John Gardeniers
    Oct 24, 2012 at 22:22
  • Ask all the people who created the CSS or AACS how well those systems worked at keeping end users from the content on their local media. BTW If you don't want to cede control of your application, simply run it in the cloud.
    – Zoredache
    Oct 25, 2012 at 7:09
  • What if your customer wants you to run your application on their server and you don't them to sneek into your application folder - Then you say "no" to them running it on their server. If you have secret sauce you can't encrypt, or let others see under any circumstances, that's a valid answer (albeit one that might cost you customers). Their reasons for wanting the app on their own servers are also likely to also be the same reasons they wouldn't want you to limit access to the app's folders and again you might lose customers if you insist on that. After all, it's their server, you know?
    – Rob Moir
    Oct 25, 2012 at 8:04

3 Answers 3

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Can't be done...

If they have admin rights on the computer, they can get access to what you're doing.

You can do things with auditing that could tell you what's going on, but you can't completely stop them. Your best bet is encryption, but even that's not perfect, they could eavesdrop on your sessions, but that's less likely.

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Encrypt it. Another administrator can override any setting you do.

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I once used third-party tools for locking folders with passwords. Such tools also provide an option to hide your folders, or even volumes.

Folder Key

That one worked well for me LockFolderXP, has all the features listed above.

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    That's fine for hiding your porn or other sensitive data but useless for the purposes of this question. At some point the application must unlock the folder in order to be able to use it, at which point the "protection" is null and void. It would also be trivial to see what command is sent to the locking application and thereby determine the password used.
    – John Gardeniers
    Oct 24, 2012 at 10:16

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