Cloak hides shared folders, files on Windows-based systems

ScriptLogic has released software designed to help corporations manage and secure files and folders shared across Windows-based systems.

Cloak is server-based software that hides views of files and folders from users who do not have permission to access those resources. Today, users can see all shared folders when they are logged on to servers even though they have access rights to only a subset of those folders.

While Novell's NetWare offers similar folder-hiding capabilities, the feature is not natively available in Windows. A host of small vendors offer similar folder-hiding capabilities aimed at local desktops.

ScriptLogic officials say Cloak offers an out-of-sight, out-of-mind mechanism to fine-tune security, and can help manage regulatory mandates to safeguard information. It also provides users with a streamlined interface, because they only see the folders they can access.

"If a user can't click on a file or folder they don't have access to then they can't generate an 'object access failure' in the event log, which eliminates false positives and makes the event logs more useful," says Brian Styles, founder and CTO of ScriptLogic.

In addition, Cloak can be used to customize the interface of thin-client terminals that work off Windows Terminal Services or Citrix systems by hiding folders and files on the host server.

The software works by using access control lists that already exist on Windows NT File System files and folders to build its customized views per user. Cloak also includes a management console that allows administrators to designate which individual server volumes the software will filter.

Cloak is available in a Standard and Small Business Edition and runs on Windows 2000 and 2003 servers. The Standard version supports an unlimited number of users and costs $495. The Small Business Edition supports up to 75 users per server and costs $249.