Are your files automatically getting encrypted when stored on your Windows 10 computer? This post explains in detail how to remove encryption in Windows 10, 8, or 7. And you can learn how to decrypt a file and change encrypted files to normal files, like unencrypt PDF and Excel. Besides, you can use a professional virus attack data recovery tool to recover ransomware encrypted files.
Symantec Encryption Desktop 10.3 for Mac is free to download from our software library. Symantec Encryption Desktop for Mac lies within Security Tools, more precisely General. Our built-in antivirus checked this Mac download and rated it as 100% safe. This software for Mac OS X is an intellectual property of Symantec Corporation. Do not install both Drive Encryption and Symantec Endpoint Encryption for BitLocker on the same computer. Symantec Endpoint Encryption does not support a client that you have configured for Dual Boot (when Microsoft Windows and Linux are both installed in BIOS mode). Operating system requirements for Mac client computers. Cisdem AppCrypt- Best Website & App Encryption Software. Cisdem AppCrypt for Mac is rated as. Symantec Encryption (PGP) Many McCormick staff computers are encrypted using PGP Whole Disk Encryption. As needed, these computers will be transitioned to a native encryption option, such as Microsoft BitLocker or FileVault for Mac. BitLocker for Microsoft Windows.
Quick Navigation for Solutions to Remove File Encryption:
| Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| Remove Encrypt Contents | Right-click encrypted file/folder > 'Properties' > 'Advanced' > 'Encrypt Contents to Secure Data'...Full steps |
| Remove Encryption from PDF | Open encrypted PDF in Adobe Acrobat > 'Advanced' > 'Security' > 'Remove Security'...Full steps |
| Remove Encryption from Excel | Open encrypted Excel > 'Review' > 'Unprotected Sheet' > Enter password...Full steps |
| Restore Ransomware Encrypted File | Launch EaseUS file recovery software > Scan device > Restore lost files deleted by ransomware...Full steps |
How to Decrypt a File
'My files located on the desktop are automatically getting encrypted after moving to any other locations, and the color of the file name changes to green. By clicking the file Property, in the Advanced Settings, the option Encrypt contents to secure data is automatically checked without asking my permission. How to remove encryption in Windows and how to decrypt a file?'
Overview of File Encryption
Windows Encrypting File System (EFS) is one of the basic file/folder encryption technology that enables files to be transparently encrypted to protect confidential data from attackers with physical access to the computer. When files are encrypted in this way, the file name will show green color instead of the normal black text. Except for EFS, Windows comes with another encryption feature, named BitLocker, also can guard important data by encoding logical drives.
Once you enable encryption function for your drives, new or existing files, and folders will be automatically encrypted on the drive with a certificate and private key. If you copy unencrypted files to a folder with encrypted property, they will also be automatically encrypted. This makes it impossible for unauthorized users to access and edit the data.
How to Remove Encrypt Contents to Secure Data
You can remove file system encryption by unchecking the 'Encrypt Contents to Secure Data' feature. Yes, this only works for the file system, not for a specific file. If you want to decrypt files, the certificate or password is indispensable. To recover encrypted files without password, check the topic article.
1. Find the file or folder you wish to encrypt.
2. Right-click the file/folder and click 'Properties.' Then, click the 'Advanced...' button on the General screen.
3. Check the box 'Encrypt Contents to Secure Data' under the Compress or Encrypt attributes section, then click the 'OK' button.
4. Continuing clicking the 'OK' button. An encryption warning box will pop up.
5. Check the 'Encrypt the File Only' box to encrypt the individual file, then click 'OK' to finish.
How to Decrypt a File in Windows 10/8/7
Read this part and see how to decrypt PDF and Excel files. If your encrypted files are lost, you can recover deleted data first, and use the ways below to decode.
How to Remove Encryption from a PDF File
PDF is one of the most reliable file formats used by the users to present and exchange documents. Nowadays, security is the main concern for all the users, so many users choose to encrypt there PDF documents applying passwords to them. However, when others need to read the PDF, you need to remove the encryption. Follow the following steps to decrypt a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat. And the premise is you must know the password.
1. Open Adobe Acrobat on your computer.
2. Open the protected PDF file and type the password when prompted.
3. Click 'Advanced' at the top of the Acrobat window. Select 'Security' and then click 'Remove Security.'
4. Click 'OK' to confirm the action and remove the encryption. Then, press 'Ctrl+S' to save the unencrypted PDF file.
How to Remove Encryption from Excel
Symantec Encryption Desktop For Mac
Remove the encryption from Excel worksheet and Excel document is different. Check the way respectively.
Decrypt an Excel Worksheet
1. Click the 'Review' tab on the too bar. Then, choose 'Unprotect Sheet'. You will be prompted for a password.
2. Enter the password and click 'OK'. Now, you have removed the password from an Excel worksheet, and you can start editing.
Unencrypt an Excel Document
Symantec Encryption Desktop 10.4.2 For Mac
1. Open the Excel document you want to remove encryption.
2. Click 'File' > 'Info' > 'Protect Workbook.' In the drop-down menu, click 'Encrypt with Password'. The password entry box arises.
3. Delete the password in the box, leaving the box empty. Click 'OK' to remove the password from the document. Then, click 'Save' before exiting the document.
How to Remove Encryption from Ransomware Infected Files
Symantec Encryption Desktop 10.3 for Mac is free to download from our software library. Symantec Encryption Desktop for Mac lies within Security Tools, more precisely General. Our built-in antivirus checked this Mac download and rated it as 100% safe. This software for Mac OS X is an intellectual property of Symantec Corporation. Do not install both Drive Encryption and Symantec Endpoint Encryption for BitLocker on the same computer. Symantec Endpoint Encryption does not support a client that you have configured for Dual Boot (when Microsoft Windows and Linux are both installed in BIOS mode). Operating system requirements for Mac client computers. Cisdem AppCrypt- Best Website & App Encryption Software. Cisdem AppCrypt for Mac is rated as. Symantec Encryption (PGP) Many McCormick staff computers are encrypted using PGP Whole Disk Encryption. As needed, these computers will be transitioned to a native encryption option, such as Microsoft BitLocker or FileVault for Mac. BitLocker for Microsoft Windows.
Quick Navigation for Solutions to Remove File Encryption:
| Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| Remove Encrypt Contents | Right-click encrypted file/folder > 'Properties' > 'Advanced' > 'Encrypt Contents to Secure Data'...Full steps |
| Remove Encryption from PDF | Open encrypted PDF in Adobe Acrobat > 'Advanced' > 'Security' > 'Remove Security'...Full steps |
| Remove Encryption from Excel | Open encrypted Excel > 'Review' > 'Unprotected Sheet' > Enter password...Full steps |
| Restore Ransomware Encrypted File | Launch EaseUS file recovery software > Scan device > Restore lost files deleted by ransomware...Full steps |
How to Decrypt a File
'My files located on the desktop are automatically getting encrypted after moving to any other locations, and the color of the file name changes to green. By clicking the file Property, in the Advanced Settings, the option Encrypt contents to secure data is automatically checked without asking my permission. How to remove encryption in Windows and how to decrypt a file?'
Overview of File Encryption
Windows Encrypting File System (EFS) is one of the basic file/folder encryption technology that enables files to be transparently encrypted to protect confidential data from attackers with physical access to the computer. When files are encrypted in this way, the file name will show green color instead of the normal black text. Except for EFS, Windows comes with another encryption feature, named BitLocker, also can guard important data by encoding logical drives.
Once you enable encryption function for your drives, new or existing files, and folders will be automatically encrypted on the drive with a certificate and private key. If you copy unencrypted files to a folder with encrypted property, they will also be automatically encrypted. This makes it impossible for unauthorized users to access and edit the data.
How to Remove Encrypt Contents to Secure Data
You can remove file system encryption by unchecking the 'Encrypt Contents to Secure Data' feature. Yes, this only works for the file system, not for a specific file. If you want to decrypt files, the certificate or password is indispensable. To recover encrypted files without password, check the topic article.
1. Find the file or folder you wish to encrypt.
2. Right-click the file/folder and click 'Properties.' Then, click the 'Advanced...' button on the General screen.
3. Check the box 'Encrypt Contents to Secure Data' under the Compress or Encrypt attributes section, then click the 'OK' button.
4. Continuing clicking the 'OK' button. An encryption warning box will pop up.
5. Check the 'Encrypt the File Only' box to encrypt the individual file, then click 'OK' to finish.
How to Decrypt a File in Windows 10/8/7
Read this part and see how to decrypt PDF and Excel files. If your encrypted files are lost, you can recover deleted data first, and use the ways below to decode.
How to Remove Encryption from a PDF File
PDF is one of the most reliable file formats used by the users to present and exchange documents. Nowadays, security is the main concern for all the users, so many users choose to encrypt there PDF documents applying passwords to them. However, when others need to read the PDF, you need to remove the encryption. Follow the following steps to decrypt a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat. And the premise is you must know the password.
1. Open Adobe Acrobat on your computer.
2. Open the protected PDF file and type the password when prompted.
3. Click 'Advanced' at the top of the Acrobat window. Select 'Security' and then click 'Remove Security.'
4. Click 'OK' to confirm the action and remove the encryption. Then, press 'Ctrl+S' to save the unencrypted PDF file.
How to Remove Encryption from Excel
Symantec Encryption Desktop For Mac
Remove the encryption from Excel worksheet and Excel document is different. Check the way respectively.
Decrypt an Excel Worksheet
1. Click the 'Review' tab on the too bar. Then, choose 'Unprotect Sheet'. You will be prompted for a password.
2. Enter the password and click 'OK'. Now, you have removed the password from an Excel worksheet, and you can start editing.
Unencrypt an Excel Document
Symantec Encryption Desktop 10.4.2 For Mac
1. Open the Excel document you want to remove encryption.
2. Click 'File' > 'Info' > 'Protect Workbook.' In the drop-down menu, click 'Encrypt with Password'. The password entry box arises.
3. Delete the password in the box, leaving the box empty. Click 'OK' to remove the password from the document. Then, click 'Save' before exiting the document.
How to Remove Encryption from Ransomware Infected Files
In addition to actively encrypting your files, your files can also be encrypted permissively by a ransomware virus. In this case, we suggest that you don't pay the ransom and use a data recovery software to recover the deleted original files by ransomware. In this way, you can remove the encryption.
You need to understand that most of the computer virus encrypts files in three steps, like the screenshot below. First, make an entire copy of all the files; second, delete all original files; third, encrypt the copy. That's why you see encrypted files as soon as your computer were virus-infected.
To recover ransomware encrypted files, you can use EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. This powerful file recovery software allows you to recover data from virus attack, accidental deletion, hard drive formatting, partition loss, recycle bin emptying, and more.
Step 1. Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. Select the disk partition or storage device where you lost files and click the 'Scan' button.
Step 2. This program will quickly start a scanning process to find lost files. When the process accomplishes, you can double-click files to have a preview before selection.
Step 3. Choose the files you want. Then click the 'Recover' button to get them back. You should save the data to another safe spot in your PC/storage device, not where they lost.
After data recovery, continue taking time to remove the virus with antivirus software to make sure your computer is clean. We highly suggest that you back up your important files regularly to avoid unexpected data loss. You can do it manually or automatically by using a Windows schedule backup software.
Topics Map > Security > Encryption > PGP Desktop
Your data deserves protection. The UIC license for Symantec Encryption Desktop provides easy to use and secure encryption to protect sensitive data on your laptop or desktop computers. Laptops are easily lost, and even desktop computers can be stolen. Symantec Encryption Desktop also includes a secure shredder, to really delete files you want to delete. A major motivation for using Symantec Encryption Desktop is to fulfill HIPAA requirements.
Why You Want to Use Symantec Encryption Desktop
You may have heard of PGP -- Pretty Good Privacy -- in the context of encrypting electronic mail and email attachments, and digitally signing email messages. That is not what the UIC license for Symantec Encryption Desktop/PGP Desktop is for. Symantec Encryption Desktop provides easy to use and secure encryption to protect sensitive data on your laptop, PC, or removable media. Laptops and flash drives are easily lost, and even desktop computers can be stolen. Symantec Encryption Desktop also includes a secure shredder, to really delete files you want to delete.
The UIC license for Symantec Encryption Desktop centers on Symantec Drive Encryption (formerly known as PGP Whole Disk Encryption / WDE) which securely encrypts the entire contents of your laptop or desktop, including boot sectors, system, and swap files. After you install Symantec Encryption Desktop on your computer, the disk encryption process will automatically run on its hard drive. After your hard disk is encrypted, you must login to Symantec Encryption Desktop before you can boot the computer. Operating system login bypass tricks won't work.
After you authenticate and your computer boots, encryption is always on, automatically protecting your data. But it is also transparent. This 'transparency' means that your computer works exactly as it always did after you boot, but it also means that the files you use are not protected when your computer is on, after you authenticate with Symantec Encryption Desktop. So there are three additional things you need to do to protect your computer:
- Turn your computer off when you are transporting it, so that it will be protected from booting without logging into Symantec Encryption Desktop.
- Make sure you turn password protection on for when your computer goes to sleep. This does not provide the protection that Symantec Encryption Desktop does, but it will keep casual intruders from accessing your computer while it is asleep. (Note that if you use Hibernate on Windows machines rather than Sleep, Symantec Encryption Desktop will protect your computer when it wakes. However, not all Windows computers support or are set up so that they can Hibernate. (You can tell see whether Hibernate is a Shutdown option in the Start menu; Search in Help and Support on Windows for 'hibernate' for more information.)
The Technology Solutions is running a Symantec Encryption Management Server, in which your PGP key is protected with your UIC Active Directory ID and password, which is your UIC NetID and your Technology Solutions common password.
What Am I Installing?
The software that you install is called Symantec Encryption Desktop, but the UIC license for Symantec Encryption Desktop includes only the Symantec Drive Encryption features. Symantec's Quick Start Guides:
have instructions on how to use these parts of Symantec Encryption Desktop:
Symantec Drive Encryption You can use Symantec Drive Encryption to lock down the entire contents of your system or an external or USB flash drive. Boot sectors, system files, and swap files are all encrypted. Whole disk encrypting your boot drive means you do not have to worry if your computer is lost or stolen: to access your data, an attacker would need your encrypted drive's 'passphrase', provided that the computer is not already booted.
PGP Virtual Disk volumes allows you to define part of your hard drive space as an encrypted virtual disk volume that you mount with its own drive letter. When a PGP Virtual Disk is mounted -- open-- you can use it and the data in it like you would use any other drive. But when the volume is not mounted, all the data on the volume is protected .PGP Zip allows you to create an encrypted, compressed, portable archive from any combination of files and folders. Symantec Encryption Desktop must be installed on a system to create or open a PGP Zip archive. You can use a PGP Zip archive to send data to other people securely or to back it up securely.
PGP Shredder completely destroys files and folders that you delete so that even file recovery software cannot recover them. When you delete a file using the Recycle Bin (on Windows systems) or Trash (on Mac OS X systems), it is not actually deleted; just the directory information pointing to it is deleted. PGP Shredder, however, immediately overwrites file's data multiple times.
The Technology Solutions runs a Symantec Encryption Management Server for UIC. The Symantec Encryption Management Server provides central administration of encryption applications, creation and delivery of configuration policy, reporting and logging, and management of PGP private and public keys.
The UIC license for Symantec Encryption Desktop does not include Symantec Desktop Email Encryption (which encrypts, signs, decrypts, and verifies email and Instant Messages) or, for Windows, PGP NetShare (for sharing protected files). PGP Viewer and PGP Zip, respectively, which we do have, can help with these tasks.
Because the Technology Solutions Symantec Encryption Management Server manages the campus's public and private keys, our Symantec Encryption Desktop does not come with PGP Key Management.
Added Security is Necessary When the Computer is Running
The biggest problem with Symantec Drive Encryption is even though the data on your hard drive is encrypted, after you log in and unlock the encrypted disk, your data is freely accessible. Making sure that everyone uses a login password and has that password activated when the computer wakes up from sleep or the screensaver can help with that problem.
However, on Windows, if you use Hibernate rather than Sleep, when your computer turns itself off, Symantec Encryption Desktop will protect your computer when it wakes. But not all Windows computers support or are set up so that they can Hibernate. To tell whether yours is, check to see whether Hibernate is a Shutdown option in the Start menu. Even if it isn't, you might be able to turn it on. Search in Window's Help and Support for 'hibernate' for more information.
But the best/easiest solution to protect your laptop when you are transporting it or it is out of your control is to shut it down.
