Windows 7 - File permissions, administrator rights, sharing issues

We have been having an ongoing problem for several months. I will explain as best I can, but know that there are most likely more issues than what I am presenting here. I apologize in advance for my lengthiness.

We have a home network of 7 computers and have been using Win 7 Pro and Office 2010 Pro Plus together without error since about May until mid-summer when I began using MS Outlook. When I started using Outlook on my laptop it took over all user permissions on the network making me the administrator/owner. I don't know if Outlook is responsible. I am just making connections with the timing. Folders were shared that should not have been shared and the file system got mixed up. Files came up with strange attribute settings. It appears that my computer encrypted files that reside on other computers leaving other users unable to access them.

On the occasions that we have wiped my hard drive and others to fix the problem by starting over, everything seems fine until I start using MS Outlook again. It may be important to know that I am the only one that uses Outlook on the network. And, by the way, when I say start over, I mean that we wiped drives with various software such as DriveScrubber, and others, to no avail. Later, we used disk part and thought we had it licked, but NO. After that, we discovered how to delete the volume shadow copies, but it still comes back every time like a haunting or something. We even bought brand new hard drives and installed them on all computers, bought a firewalled router, and carefully and meticulously reinstalled our software from disks making sure that everything was in order. We have isolated old files to eliminate the possibility of virus or malware. We have discussed the problem with the cable company and with Norton. If that isn't enough, for a long time, my boyfriend thought that I was doing this on purpose and we almost broke up over it. TMI . . I know, but I want to express the horror of it all!!

I can accept the fact that I might have changed a setting unknowingly in the beginning, however, the problem will not go away after careful reinstallation and setup. We are at wits end with this!! We have investigated many areas, including Sharepoint, Skydrive, VSS, file sharing, security, Windows Server, viruses, hacking, and more, not to mention asking this same question in other forums, but have yet to find a solution. SevenForums is my last resort. ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I hope someone out there has something for me. Thank you in advance.

Hello DonnWise, welcome to the forum.

Try reading through the following tutorial.
(I wondered if Option Five, point number 4, might apply. However, I could not be sure).
It might be advisable to print out the tutorial and make a note of all changes you make - you then have a record of how to restore to your original settings:
Run as Administrator