Windows® Administration Resource Kit: Productivity Solutions for IT Professionals

2-10: Avoid the ACL Inheritance Propagation Danger of File and Folder Movement

Solution overview

Type of solution	Guidance
Features and tools	Robocopy.exe
Solution summary	Never use Windows Explorer to move files or folders between two locations in the same namespace with different permissions. Instead, use Robocopy or an alternative.
Benefits	Correct application of permissions

Important

This solution addresses what many (including all of my customers) consider to be a bug or design flaw in the security of files on Windows systems. Microsoft has documented the problem as the result of a known feature of the NTFS file system, but it has changed it nonetheless in Windows Server 2008. Whether you call it a "feature" or a "bug," you must educate your administrators ...