CORE CONCEPTS

Overview

Before starting with the NTFSSecurity module there are some core concepts that you will need to understand.

There are two ways you can handle permissions, basic and advanced. The basic set of permissions are goups of advanced permissions that allow you to assign common role such as 'Read', 'Read/Write', or 'Full'. Advanced permissions allow you granular control of what can and can't be access or used. The advanced permissions are commonly used to build custom Role-Based Access Control tooling.

Below is an explaination taken from the fantastic site NTFS.com for each of the advanced file permissions.

Traverse Folder/Execute File

• Traverse Folder: Allows or denies moving through a restricted folder to reach files and folders beneath the restricted folder in the folder hierarchy. Traverse folder takes effect only when the group or user is not granted the "Bypass traverse checking user" right in the Group Policy snap-in. This permission does not automatically allow running program files.

• Execute File: Allows or denies running program (executable) files.

List Folder/Read Data

• List Folder: Allows or denies viewing file names and subfolder names within the folder. List Folder only affects the contents of that folder and does not affect whether the folder you are setting the permission on will be listed.

• Read Data: Allows or denies viewing data in files.

Read Attributes

• Allows or denies viewing the attributes of a file or folder, for example, "read-only" and "hidden".

Read Extended Attributes

• Allows or denies viewing the extended attributes of a file or folder. Extended attributes are defined by programs and may vary by program.

Create Files/Write Data

• Create Files: Allows or denies creating files within the folder.

• Write Data: Allows or denies making changes to a file and overwriting existing content.

Create Folders/Append Data

• Create Folders: Allows or denies creating subfolders within the folder.

• Append Data: Allows or denies making changes to the end of the file but not changing, deleting, or overwriting existing data.

Write Attributes

• Allows or denies changing the attributes of a file or folder, for example, "read-only" or "hidden".

• The Write Attributes permission does not imply creating or deleting files or folders, it only includes the permission to make changes to the attributes of an existing file or folder.

Write Extended Attributes

• Allows or denies changing the extended attributes of a file or folder. Extended attributes are defined by programs and may vary by program.

• The Write Extended Attributes permission does not imply creating or deleting files or folders, it only includes the permission to make changes to the extended attributes of an existing file or folder.

Delete Subfolders and Files

• Allows or denies deleting subfolders and files, even if the Delete permission has not been granted on the subfolder or file.

Delete

• Allows or denies deleting the file or folder. If you don't have Delete permission on a file or folder, you can still delete it if you have been granted Delete Subfolders and Files on the parent folder.

Read Permissions

• Allows or denies reading permissions of a file or folder.

Change Permissions

• Allows or denies changing permissions of the file or folder.

Take Ownership

• Allows or denies taking ownership of the file or folder. The owner of a file or folder can always change permissions on it, regardless of any existing permissions that protect the file or folder.

You can see how the basic permissions, advanced permissions, and the NTFSSecurity module relate to one another in the below table.

NTFSSecurity	AccessRight displayed	Advanced Security Window
ReadData	ListDirectory	List Folder / Read Data
ListDirectory	ListDirectory	List Folder / Read Data
WriteData	CreateFile	Create Files / Write Data
CreateFiles	CreateFile	Create Files / Write Data
AppendData	CreateDirectories	Create Folders / Append Data
CreateDirectories	CreateDirectories	Create Folders / Append Data
ReadExtendedAttributes	ReadExtendedAttributes	Read Extended Attributes
WriteExtendedAttributes	WriteExtendedAttributes	WriteExtendedAttributes
ExecuteFile	Traverse	Traverse Folder / Execute File
Traverse	Traverse	Traverse Folder / Execute File
DeleteSubdirectoriesAndFiles	DeleteSubdirectoriesAndFiles	Delete Sub-folders and Files
ReadAttributes	ReadAttributes	Read Attributes
WriteAttributes	WriteAttributes	Write Attributes
Write	Write	Create Files / Write Data, Create Folders / Append Data, Write-Attributes, Write Extended Attributes
Delete	Delete	Delete
ReadPermissions	ReadPermissions	Read Permissions
Read	Read	List Folder / Read Data, Read Attributes, Read Extended Attributes, Read Permissions
ReadAndExecute	ReadAndExecute	Traverse Folder / Execute File, List Folder / Read Data, Read Attributes, Read Extended Attributes, Read Permissions
Modify	Modify	Everything except Full Control, Delete SubFolders and Files, Change Permissions, Take Ownership
ChangePermissions	ChangePermissions	Change Permissions