Ok so my supervisor is currently testing something with Windows Permission Settings for folders, basically setting who can access it and who can't. He wants me to find out if I can get in, without permissions.
Basically checking how secure this method is to protect a folder from unwanted access.
So my question is, Is it possible to get into the folder without third party software?
Please note: I am NOT asking how to do this, just want to know if it is possible.
Since all file access is performed through Windows, Windows permissions will be respected for any attempt to access a file.
To access the file without using Windows, you could boot on a Linux CD, but I suppose that would qualify as "third party software" in your question.
If a user has sufficient permission on the parent folder, the user may be able to modify the permissions on the folder you're trying to protect. This would generally only be available to someone with an admin account.
Aside from the above caveats, the Windows Permissions settings are perfectly secure.