Tag Server

Hide Folders Under Share with Access Based Enumeration

By inMicrosoft, Microsoft Server 2016, Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Tag , , , ,

So todays challenge. Hide visible folders under share to users who don’t have access.

Example

We create some new shares. Folders are then created under the share and NTFS permissions set.

Share Name : Shared Folder

Folder :

  • IT (NTFS Permissions – IT group Only)
  • HR (NTFS Permissions – HR group Only)
  • PAYROLE (NTFS Permissions – Payrole group Only)
  • ALL USERS (NTFS Permissions – HR Only)

I created a share. When logged in as a user, i could see all the folders under the shared folder.
As you would expect, I could only open the folders I had access to.

So, is this suitable? It doesnt let users in to folders they dont have access to, but it does tell them which folders are there.

So this is where “Access Based Enumeration” might come in. This feature hides folders from users that do not have permission to that folder.
Access based enumeration (ABE) came out in Windows Server 2008.

How to setup Access Based Enumeration:

  • Launch “SERVER MANAGER” (Server 2012 or Server 2016)
  • Click on “FILE AND STORAGE SERVICES”
  • Click on “SHARES”
  • Right click on each share you want to set ABE, select “PROPERTIES”
  • Click “SETTINGS”
  • Click “ENABLE ACCESS BASED ENUMERATION”

The next time a user logs in and views the share only users that have permissions to that folders under the share will be able to see them. The folders they dont have permission to will not appear.

—Always try things in a lab environment, always seek further information before implementing from the vendor i.e Microsoft.com —