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Outlook 2016 Unexpected Folder permissions - Some folders have users with "Folder Visible" granted. RRS feed

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    It's not all folders but it can be several seemingly random folders with 1 or 2 to several somewhat random users list at level "None" with the "Folder Visible" permission granted.  How or why are these users and permissions are being set?  Sometimes the user (or Name) Anonymous is listed at level "none" but without any permissions.  Can anyone tell me what mechanism(s) is at play here?  Does having the permission "folder Visible" mean anything if your level is "None? 

    Thank you, Steve.

           
    Wednesday, February 15, 2017 8:02 PM

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    Hi Steve,

    Did you ever grant Folder Visible permission to these users on the parent folders of these folders (on which users have Folder Visible permission)? Let's say, User A granted User B with Folder Visible permission on the Inbox folder. After that, User A created a new subfolder Test under Inbox, then, the Folder Visible permission will be inherited to the Test subfolder. While the Folder Visible permission was removed for User B on the Inbox folder, User B will still have permission on the Test subfolder.

    Is this the possible cause to the issue?

    Regards,

    Steve Fan

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    Thursday, February 16, 2017 6:44 AM
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    Thank you Steve, 

    I did give some thought to inherited permissions but it doesn't look like that's what is happening.  I've checked a few accounts and the users would not have granted permissions to anyone on their own.  It seems, to me, that it may be part of an automated process.  My two best out right guesses are:

    1.) It happens when sharing a calendar in outlook or when sharing a document in OneDrive, or something along that line but it doesn't seem consistent.  I don't see a direct relationship to a document or calendar for many or all of the folders.

    2.) We migrated from Novell and GroupWise a few years ago.  I thought these permissions might have carried over at migration time.  But the strange permissions even show up on some new folders that were made after the migration and their parent folder has normal permissions.           

    Thanks again, Steve.

    Thursday, February 16, 2017 8:47 PM
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    Thank you for the update.

    I haven't encountered such issue before. In general, the unexpected folder permissions are being configured or were configured by someone using a tool or application. It may have been done many months ago. As far as I know, Outlook itself won't automatically assign permissions.

    In my opinion, the best way to proceed with your investigation is to revert the unexpected folder permissions and then run monthly or weekly audits to see if the permissions are being reconfigured.

    Regards,

    Steve Fan

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    • Proposed as answer by Steve Fan Monday, February 27, 2017 9:43 AM
    Wednesday, February 22, 2017 9:54 AM