Microsoft shelves Private Folder 1.0 application

Microsoft shelves Private Folder 1.0 application

Microsoft has decided to shelve the new Private Folder 1.0 application following a protest from corporate customers. The application was intended as a reward for those submitting to Windows XP verification via Windows Genuine Advantage.

The program sought to allow users to hide files form the hard disk through a password-protected protocol. However corporate customers were worried about losing the password, while parents expressed concern about children hiding files from them. "Private Folder 1.0 was designed as a benefit for customers running genuine Windows," Microsoft said in a statement to CNET News.com. "However, we received feedback about concerns around manageability, data recovery and encryption, and based on that feedback, we are removing the application today. This change will take effect shortly."

Earlier when it introduced the tool, Microsoft had projected it as "a useful tool...to protect your private data when friends, colleagues, kids or other people share your PC or account."
Many blog posts criticized Redmond for failing to take the customers security concerns into consideration.

Stuart Graham said in a posting on Windows Server-related site MSBlog that Redmond did not consider the impact on enterprises, "Oh great, have they even thought about the impact this could have on enterprises," Graham said. "I'm already trying to frantically find information on this product so that A) I can block to all our desktops and B) figure out how we then support it when users inevitably lose files. I can see the benefit in this product for home users, but it's a bit of a sloppy release by Microsoft."