I gave an old PC to somebody i know, before i did i zipped all there old pictures and the file was encripted.

now the person i got the pc off wants there pictures BACK.
I have tried to unzip the file but i do not have access, only the user who created the file can unzip it, but the user account has been deleted and if i make one of the same NAME the Certificates do not mach and i still do not have acces

Is there anyway i can open this file

Thank you

IanNo.
Without the correct password for the encrypted files you are out of luck...
Unless you want to pay for a data recovery service which after you see the price you might change your mind.Are you sure you need to be on the same user account? I've never heard of something like that, unless you selected some setting?

As patio said compression software does not just stick a password somewhere, a complex ENCRYPTION algorithm used and the only way this can be undone is by knowing the password or by enduring a TEDIOUS brute-force 'hack'.

Could you POST screenshots of the screen you see when you try to extract and the error message which says you need to be on the same user?It just says access denied, it does not ask for a password or anything.

When you right click over the file go to properties and get the options,
click the advanced button, encryption is ticked.
you cant untick it because its says access denied
click the details button
in there it says the only user with access is ..........
i tried to add another certificate which would be able to access the file but there was none in the list

cheersIf you are talking about Windows 2000/XP file encryption, if you have not got the password, the data is gone forever. Unless you have a supercomputer and many decades of time.

This is why, when encrypting files or folders, it is a good idea to note the password somewhere and back up the certificate, because if the user account gets deleted or whatever, a new user account, even with the same name, will have a different and useless certificate.








Why not burn the file/folder to a cd in its encrypted form and give it to the former owner?

Alan <><