When implementing EFS, what happens if you copy an unencrypted file into any folder on a FAT32 drive?

When you copy an unencrypted file into any folder on a FAT32 drive while using Encrypting File System (EFS), the file is decrypted. EFS is a feature available in NTFS (New Technology File System) that provides encryption for files and folders. However, FAT32 does not support file encryption through EFS.

As a result, any unencrypted file copied to a FAT32 drive does not retain any encryption attributes from the source. The EFS functionality does not operate on FAT32, which means that once the file is placed on that type of drive, it effectively loses its encrypted status and becomes completely unencrypted.

This demonstrates the limitation of using EFS with non-NTFS file systems, emphasizing the importance of choosing the appropriate file system for secure data handling. In this situation, the file will be accessible in its unencrypted form on the FAT32 drive.