How to stop Windows 10 Search from indexing encrypted files

By Staff writer | 22 Jan 2019 at 16:12hrs
Windows
Windows 10's Search function is an invaluable feature, as it allows you to search your system for specific files and applications directly from the task bar.

While it works extremely well, the function can result in encrypted files being unintentionally exposed, according to Softpedia News.

If a system is configured to index encrypted files, the Search tool will display them and attempt to decrypt them to display their contents.

This could cause an issue for users who would rather leave these files encrypted and hidden.

Ensuring that no encrypted files are indexed is easy, however, and can be accomplished by changing a setting.

To change the encrypted file indexing policy, users can type "gpedit.msc" in the Start Menu, and then navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search.

From this menu, users can access the policy labelled "Allow indexing of encrypted files" and disable it to ensure that no protected files are indexed or decrypted by the Windows 10 Search function.

Setting this policy means that any settings changes to encrypted file indexing in Control Panel will not apply unless the policy setting is changed.

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