KB #240081: SQL Trace Files are being Encrypted

Type:	Information

Summary:
If you check the “Encrypt New” check box when Securing an instance of SQL Server, all new Databases and Backups are automatically encrypted, as are SQL Trace Files (.TRC)

Additional Information:
SQL Trace Files (.TRC) are actually a type of database, so will be encrypted if you select the “Encrypt New” checkbox. This is generally a good idea as TRC files can contain sensitive information. However, if you want to exclude .TRC files from being encrypted, you must specify it on the Additional Options Screen when securing with the Admin Wizard. For example, to encrypt all new databases and backups, but exclude Trace files, `Include .` as the first entry, followed by `Exclude .TRC` as the second entry (Case is not significant). In this example, the “rules” string beneath the checkboxes would appear as: `+.#1;-.TRC;` Remember that the entire Rules string is processed all the way through from left to right, and the last entry to match is the effective rule. Therefore if you specify this: `-.TRC;+.#1;` TRC files will end up being encrypted as the final matching rule `+.*#1` (i.e., encrypt all) will be the effective one.

Last modified: 1/13/2016