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Is it possible to password protect system files that still need to be used by the system? More specifically I would like to password protect the hosts file. Yes, it's that bad. I know that there are a variety of programs out there and some great scripts, but I still would like a nuclear option.

Operating system: Windows 7 Ultimate x86

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You want to password protect write access presumably? Only administrators can edit this file, so all you need to is not give people administrator access. – Paul Dec 14 '11 at 4:58
What do I do if I am an administrator and need administrative rights for everything else? I'm looking for a method that will keep me out at all costs. – arete Dec 14 '11 at 5:12
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Sorry this doesn't make sense. You don't need admin rights for "everything else", you need admin rights for administrative tasks, and you need to escalate via UAC to do that. If you find yourself going to edit hosts and getting prompted to escalate, simply say "no". – Paul Dec 14 '11 at 5:19
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@arete: That is impossible. With administrative rights, no amount of NTFS permissions will solve your problem. Nor will encryption, since the system itself needs to be able to read it. The whole point of an admin account is full control of the system. If you don't need full control, don't use the admin account! – surfasb Dec 14 '11 at 5:22
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Yes. Stop logging in as the admin. If you have a user account that is in the Administrator group, change the group to something more restrictive as Surfasb said. – OG Chuck Low Dec 14 '11 at 5:47
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closed as not a real question by techie007, Sathya♦ Dec 14 '11 at 7:10

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