AccessChk

AccessChk comes in handy to system or network administrators who want to find out details regarding user permissions on a specific workstation. It offers access rights information for groups or individual users, helping administrators in building a robust security policy.

AccessChk only runs in the command console, but its syntax is rather simple, and usage shouldn't pose problems, especially to experienced users. All the commands are displayed, alongside explanations and instructions.

Regardless of the chosen command, you can type in a user or a group name, and AccessChk retrieves information about the permissions of that particular account. If there is no name mentioned, it extracts and displays the access rights for all accounts it finds in the security descriptor.

AccessChk can report on access rights to files, folders, processes, shared resources (printers and files), registry entries, services, objects and event logs, covering all the important system areas.

It comes with various commands to help you carefully define the item you are interested in. For instance, it can be configured to analyze access to directories or top level keys only or display objects that don't allow access or whose permission policy is limited to writing or reading. To obtain thorough results, you can filter data by object type.

The output of AccessChk is easy to understand: 'R' stands for 'read access', while 'W' is shown for write access only. If nothing is printed, then the selected account has no read or write permission.

While it is easy to use to those who are familiar with the command console, others might think that a classical interface, even a very simple one, would make AccessChk more user-friendly. Ultimately, it's just a matter of experience and taste.