How To Enable/ Disable Windows Encrypting File System (EFS) Feature in Windows 11 – Guide

BitLocker is a security service that lets you encrypt individual files and folders on your computer. If someone else is logged in to the computer, those files will not be encrypted.

BitLocker is more secure than EFS encryption because the key that unlocks the encryption is stored on a remote server. There is also a chance that the data will not leak if the drive is not encrypted.

To disable EFS on a Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Start menu and type “EFS”.
  2. Click on the “Disable” button.
  3. Click on the “OK” button to close the EFS window.

Disable EFS using the command prompt

netstat -an | grep EFS

Encrypting File System (EFS) is a feature that can be enabled on your computer by copying, pasting the given command into the command prompt and pressing the Enter key.

Disable EFS by changing registry editors

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon On the right side of the window, you’ll see a key called “UserInit”. Double-click on it to open its properties. In the UserInit’s “Value” field, type Shell=C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe Press the Enter key to close the Registry Editor window. Now when you log in as Administrator, your default shell will be C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe ..

The screenshot below shows the EFS Configuration window. The path is correct, but the EFS key is not there. To find the EFS key, right-click anywhere in the right pane and click New DWORD Value (32-bit). Name the newly created DWORD value EfsConfiguration.

Disable EFS feature:

  1. Double-click the DWORD to edit its value data.
  2. In the Value data field, enter 1.
  3. In the Disable EFS field, enter 0.

Disable EFS using services

The Services.msc file contains the settings for your Windows computer. By opening it, you can change some of the defaults and add new services.

A new window called Services opens. Scroll down and find the entry named Encrypting File System (EFS). This window provides access to tools that can be used to protect files and folders on your computer. ..

To encrypt your files, you must first enable the Encrypting File System (EFS) on your computer. Then, you can choose to disable it or apply it.

Final note

How to Enable/Disable Windows Encrypting File System (EFS) Feature in Windows 11 If you have an encrypted drive in your computer, you may want to enable the Windows Encrypting File System (EFS) feature. This feature helps protect your data by encrypting the drive’s contents. You can disable EFS by using the following steps:

  1. Open the Start menu and type “cmd”. This will open a command prompt.
  2. Type “netstat -a” to see how many connections are active on your computer. If there are no active connections, then EFS is not enabled.
  3. Type “netstat -p” to see how many files are currently stored on your encrypted drive. If there are no active files, then EFS is enabled.
  4. Type “netstat -s” to see how many shares are currently connected to your encrypted drive. If there are no active shares, then EFS is enabled.