Which statement best describes Encrypting File System behavior?

Which statement best describes Encrypting File System behavior?

• A. It stores encrypted files on disk but requires manual decryption to read them
• B. It cannot be used on NTFS partitions
• C. It encrypts the entire disk automatically
• D. It encrypts files transparently to the user who accesses them

Answer: (C)

Encrypting File System protects data by encrypting individual files and folders on NTFS volumes. The encryption is tied to the user's credentials, so when an authorized user logs in and opens a file, Windows decrypts it on the fly for that session, while the data on disk remains encrypted at rest. This makes access feel seamless to the user—the encryption happens transparently, without manual steps. It does not encrypt the entire disk automatically, and it operates at the file/folder level, not as a blanket disk-wide encryption. So the best description is that EFS encrypts files transparently to the user who accesses them. The other statements misrepresent EFS: it isn’t manual-decryption-requiring, it does work on NTFS partitions, and it doesn’t automatically encrypt the whole disk.

Encrypting File System protects data by encrypting individual files and folders on NTFS volumes. The encryption is tied to the user's credentials, so when an authorized user logs in and opens a file, Windows decrypts it on the fly for that session, while the data on disk remains encrypted at rest. This makes access feel seamless to the user—the encryption happens transparently, without manual steps. It does not encrypt the entire disk automatically, and it operates at the file/folder level, not as a blanket disk-wide encryption.

So the best description is that EFS encrypts files transparently to the user who accesses them. The other statements misrepresent EFS: it isn’t manual-decryption-requiring, it does work on NTFS partitions, and it doesn’t automatically encrypt the whole disk.