Windows® 7 Desktop Support and Administration: Real World Skills for MCITP Certification and Beyond

8.2. Understanding Permissions

Permissions are used to control who can access objects such as files, folders, shares, and printers. They also control the level of access that is granted. For example, a user may be granted permission to read a file or be granted permission to print to a printer.

Authentication and authorization go hand in hand, but they aren't the same thing. When a user logs on with credentials, the user is authenticated. However, just because a user can log on doesn't mean the user is authorized to access everything on a system or in a network. Permissions are used to provide the appropriate level of authorization or access for specific users or groups to specific resources and functions.

We cover three categories of resources ...