What "access denied?"

[Freewheeling]

All of a sudden Vista won't allow me access to my own documents folder outside of Word07, and won't allow me to save documents to any other folder. So I can't attach documets to emails, etc. or even open them with another program. What has happened? I don't recall having set any premissions that would exclude myself from my own user folders. I'm logged in as an administrator, by the way. Has some security update reset my permissions, and if so how do I get them back to something reasonable?

 

[rive0108]

You have somehow corrupted the user account it sounds like.
Not using registry cleaners/optimizers are you?

you can try a system restore to "undo" the corruption, and worst case delete the User from the hidden admin (after User folder data backup), and then re-create the User Folder (using the same name so permissions can be re-assigned).

 

[Freewheeling]

I'm not using any registry cleaners or optimizers that I know of, although I did use an anonymizer program and Trend Micro security. But I only run the anonymizer infrequently.

I just installed a "take ownership" program that allows me to right click on a folder and take ownership, and that seems to have restored my access to those folders.

I'm also running a Gateway version of Vista-64, which didn't come with an installation disk, so I'm not sure how to do a system restore. I did make a system disk when I first got the computer, but I'm not sure what options it would allow short of just reinstalling the factory defaults, including all the bugware.

Anyway, the take-back-ownership reg seems to work for the moment.

 

[rive0108]

I'm not using any registry cleaners or optimizers that I know of, although I did use an anonymizer program and Trend Micro security. But I only run the anonymizer infrequently.

I just installed a "take ownership" program that allows me to right click on a folder and take ownership, and that seems to have restored my access to those folders.

I'm also running a Gateway version of Vista-64, which didn't come with an installation disk, so I'm not sure how to do a system restore. I did make a system disk when I first got the computer, but I'm not sure what options it would allow short of just reinstalling the factory defaults, including all the bugware.

Anyway, the take-back-ownership reg seems to work for the moment.

You would know if you were running a reg cleaner or optimizer as they promote them as "speed up your computer!", or "defrag your registry!", "improve system Perfomance!"

By the way trend Mico is a very poor antivirus program-

 

[Imperfect1]

I just installed a "take ownership" program that allows me to right click on a folder and take ownership, and that seems to have restored my access to those folders.

Which "take ownership" program did you install, and how would you rate it, so far?

 

[Freewheeling]

I just installed a "take ownership" program that allows me to right click on a folder and take ownership, and that seems to have restored my access to those folders.

Which "take ownership" program did you install, and how would you rate it, so far?

It was something called "Add_Take_Ownership.reg" and it seems to work so far. I think I downloaded it from a link in the Vista Forums, but seem to have lost the link.

 

[Dwarf]

The link is from the Tutorials section: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/67717-take-ownership-file.html

 

[Imperfect1]

Dwarf and Freewheeling: Thanks guys!

 

[rive0108]

I'm not using any registry cleaners or optimizers that I know of, although I did use an anonymizer program and Trend Micro security.

Trend Micro-

Trend Micro is bottom of the barrel Antivirus/Antimlaware program and will at best provide subpar protection.

No Lab certification from either AV-Comparatives, or Virus Bulletin.
There is only the west coast labs certification, which shows a missed Trojan, and ICSA (which doesn’t even test for polymorphic threats-i.e., self replicating/potentially catastrophic malware threats). AV-Comparatives is top notch, and is the best, followed closely by Virus Bulletin’s VB100. Trend Micro failed the last VB100, and has no recent entries at all with AV-Comparatives. It is usually a fair indicator that a Vendor’s product is subpar, when it is not entered into either AV-Comparatives, or the VB100, and/or consistently fails the VB100 whereas NOD32 and Symantec consistently pass year after year.

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/produ..._pro_2009.html

“Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2009 Review
Jan 22, 2009 by Erik Larkin, PC World
Trend Micro's suite fails at the most basic task of detecting and blocking malicious software. Not recommended.

Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2009 ($70 for three users as of 12/24/08 ) fails badly at any security suite's most important task: Identifying malware before it can attack your PC. In tests for "Paying for Protection," our 2009 roundup of nine security suites, Trend Micro's newest offering didn't just come in last place in that crucial category--its dismal 69.3 percent detection rate was a full 20 percentage points behind the next worst competitor. In AV-Test.org's tests, which put each suite up against a huge array of bots, password stealers, and other malware, top performers tagged about 99 percent of the 654,914 samples--but Trend Micro's package let three out of every ten pieces of malicious software go by untouched. That just doesn't cut it for security software.
Trend Micro likewise fell flat in heuristic tests using two-week-old signature files to simulate dealing with unknown threats, and at catching annoying adware. It was dead last in both categories.
The company says that it emphasizes proactive protection that attempts to block threats before they can try installing malware (and before the suite would have to recognize it). Trend Micro uses its own Web crawlers, download tests, and user reports to maintain a database of malicious Web sites, and will block those sites from loading on your PC. It's a valid approach--one that could well supplement scanning for malware on your PC--but it can't yet replace that core detection task.
Trend Micro's package did shine when tasked with cleaning up an existing infection. It removed all the files from nine out of ten malware infections, a performance that only BitDefender matched. It was almost as good in dealing with Registry changes, placing second in that test.
The suite offers a few interesting features, such as a scan for missing Windows patches that assigns a risk level for each one. You'll also get a useful Wi-Fi advisor button in a browser toolbar that can warn you if your wireless network lacks encryption--a smart tool placed in a good location.
Trend Micro also did well with its user interface, and clearly took time to provide good descriptions for features and options. Right away we noticed the use of plain English throughout the program.
But the company went too far with its desire to simplify, as we saw no pop-ups or warnings when it blocked our attempted Zango-adware download. We had to dig into the program logs to find out what was going on. It's good to help people make informed decisions to protect their computer, but it's also important to at least give users an idea that something we just tried to do was potentially harmful. Without an alert, a user might think that their browser simply had a problem, and they might then try installing the dangerous software through another browser--or even worse, on another PC. You can change the default setting to display warnings when your PC encounters viruses or spyware, but you shouldn't have to.
Trend Micro's suite has some good points, but there's no getting around the fact that Internet Security Pro 2009 fails at detecting malicious software, and therefore fails as a security program. We cannot recommend buying it.”