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== Folder Virtualization Security == Windows restricts portions of the Windows file system and registry, and also restricts write operations during normal operation. Applications no longer have unlimited access to C:\Program Files and C:\Windows . Since software created for Windows often expect access to all directories, windows does some shifting behind the scenes. Windows will automatically and silently redirect global registry and anywhere file system writes to per-user locations that are not supposed to harm the system or compromise security. This will cause some legacy installers to fail or installed applications to not function correctly. To prevent failure and preserve operation of legacy installers that require direct access to restricted file system and registry locations, Microsoft engineers cooked up this virtualization scheme. If a legacy application attempts to write to the Program Files directory, Windows User Account Control silently redirects that operation to an unprotected user-specific folder. === Virtualized Folders when downloading files === Downloading a file may go directly to the path you choose under your user directory. However, sometimes a web site might use an ActiveX control to download. ActiveX controls cannot write directly to anywhere on the file system, including your own user folder, except for a virtualized cage buried deep within AppData. Basically, if you try to save a download to: c:\users\<username> It might actually end up going to the virtualized folder: c:\users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Virtualized\C\Users\<username> Microsoft intentionally tries to obfuscate actual file system paths. Internet Explorer 7 offered users the opportunity to open the Virtualization Folder. Since Internet Explorer 8 the virtualized folder path is hidden and the user receives no indication that a download is not actually going where the user thinks it is, that it has silently been redirected to the bastardized and buried virtualized folder. [[Category:Security]]