Is NTFS really secure?

I have Mac PC, in which I have created a Windows partition and have installed Windows using Boot Camp.

If I log in to the Mac OS, I can read all the files from the Windows partition from Mac. If I compare the same scenario from within Windows, Windows claims to secure a user's private files (stored in My Documents for instance) from other users with equal or less privilege.

I was expecting to see the same protection from Mac as well. I was expecting an error message in Mac to show that these files are inaccessible, if I try to see or open them.

Can someone explain if my perception is right or am I missing something?

Solution 1:

The NTFS access control lists are enforced by Windows. If a user can access the partition from outside Windows (for example by using a different operating system) then there are no guarantees of enforcement.

If you have files which must be protected, then use NTFS's encryption features.

Solution 2:

Unless you encrypt the files then the disk will be always fully readable. And yes it's completely normal.

Think of it this way. The superuser (administrator) always has full access to anything (and if he doesn't, he can gain the access). On your MacOS, you are the superuser, therefore if you don't forbid yourself access to the files you will be able to access them. Now if you would want to limit access for other users, you can of course do that (but that's something that has to be configured in MacOS not the Windows partition).