.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Secure-Programs-HOWTO/features.html
Simply put, Windows 9x was not designed for robust security. Any user can alter or remove any file not currently in use, or even reboot into DOS from Windows 95 or 98 and have unrestricted access to any file on your computer. No third-party program can protect your data if the operating system has no built-in security features. We advise Windows 9x users who require a secure environment to install a WindowsNT-based operating system, preferably Windows 2000. (Privacy advocates have raised concerns about the new operating system that Microsoft is about to release, Windows XP. See http://www.epic.org/privacy/consumer/MS_complaint.pdf and http://www.epic.org/privacy/consumer/MS_complaint2.pdf for more information about this.)
The security tools in Windows NT are available on computers using the NTFS file system. Since NT is also used on computers with the FAT16 or FAT32 file systems, not all computers using the Windows NT operating system will have the security features described below. You can check your hard drives' file system by right-clicking the drive icon and viewing the "Properties" window. On Windows NT systems, many security settings can be reviewed and edited from the Group Policy Editor. Press "Start," press "Run," type "gpedit.msc," and hit "Enter"; the settings are under Computer Configuration / Windows Settings / Security Settings. (Again, keep in mind that access controls are not the same as encryption.)
NT-based operating systems require a log-in to use the computer. The log-in requirement goes hand-in-hand with file permissions and encryption/decryption permissions (described below). Individual users or groups of users can be restricted from or given access to specific files or documents by using the Group Policy Editor.
Hard drives formatted with the NTFS file system rely on "user permissions" for security. Every file and folder has an owner and an access control list (edited by the owner or those conferred editing power by the owner) to indicate which users may "modify, read or execute documents view folder contents, write to the file or folder, or have read-only access." In recent versions of Windows based on the NT kernel, you can see which user "owns" each file and folder within a given folder by using the Details view in Windows Explorer, right-clicking any tab at the top (e.g. Name, Size, Type, Date Modified), clicking "More," then "Owner."
The NTFS file system has built-in support for file and folder encryption through the EFS (Encrypted File System) tool. Right-click a file or folder, select "Properties," look under Advanced, and check Encrypt to use this feature. Once Encrypt is checked, click Details to identify the users who can decrypt the file. (Caution: Don't forget to disable System Restore before encrypting any file that System Restore can affect, or else another user with Recovery access can use System Restore to decrypt your encrypted file.)
Windows relies on "certificates" for public key security and for applications that provide for authentication, data integrity, and secure communications over networks. Users manage their own certificates.
The features listed above target email and file system encryption. You may also be interested in encryption for other applications, such as FTP and Telnet.
FTP (file transfer protocol) is inherently insecure because the program sends the user's log-in and password as plain text (i.e. unencrypted). You can encrypt the login and password, but the computer receiving the files must know how to decrypt them. Only a few FTP servers support secure connections, but there are some freeware programs available.
Telnet, a protocol used to access files on another computer, is similarly insecure because it sends the user's log-in and password as plain text. However, nearly anything you can do with Telnet can also be done with SSH (Secure Shell; look here for a FAQ). SSH was designed to be secure, but not all computers that support Telnet support SSH, since it's an entirely different protocol.
If you lock your