We don't pretend to understand why Microsoft did this, but it seems that Simple File Sharing (SFS) (explained in more detail here and even better here) is the default on a lot of copies of XP Pro. And when SFS is enabled, you get no Permissions tab when viewing properties of files and folders in Explorer. We think that's dumb. Fix it this way:
If you are running XP Home Edition, see this link. Basically you need to boot XP Home Edition to Safe Mode before you can see the Permissions tab. |