XP/Vista - How to password protect shared files/directories?

[anish_annu]

Hey Dear can u help me regarding this..

We have 3 PC's in our office running xp pro, they all are connected via ZXDSL 531B B/B modem and are sharing internet connection and few folders on each PC..(by simple file sharing)

If any guests visit and want to connect to net through his laptop he can hv access via GUEST account which i hv created in modem..

But my problem is he can also get access to all the shared folders between our 3 PC's..

My question is how can i restrict other persons/guests getting into our network..and by only allowing him to access internet

Plz. do explain it thoroughly..

I hope u can do..

thanks in adv..

Well, you sort of have it.

First of all, avoid "deny" permissions as much as possible, since they over-ride "allow" permissions.

Secondly, keep in mind that users authenticating across the network must have a password - passwordless network logons are not permitted.

You do NOT need to have the same user accounts on each PC, although you may if you want to. Any user account on the computer that has the shared files on it will do, as long as it has a password. As I said earlier, they will only see shares you have given them access to. Avoid using "everyone". Just remove it completely from the permissions list. Instead, if you want any logged in user to be able to see a certain share, use the "Authenticated Users" group, which is any user which has provided a valid username and password.

If somebody doesn't have an account, they could use the guest account. You will need to give the guest account a password of course for this to work. Also, remember that even if you disable the guest account in the user control panel, you it can still log in across the network.

If you have any more questions, feel free to post them!

Edited March 10, 2008 by anish_annu

[Idontwantspam]

The easiest way would be to turn off simple file sharing on all of the computers, thus requiring a password. Without a password and without a domain, there's no way to keep unauthorized users out since there is nothing to stop them.

[anish_annu]

Ok, but can u please explore it in more detail..

I mean y will it ask for password, how to set up the pass..

and how to set up for sharing in such a way that other users can see the folders but wen they open it, it will ask for password..

One more thing if i disabled file sharing how can i see shared folders on any other computer becoz from network places, if i clik on workgroup computers it wont show anything..isn't so..

The easiest way would be to turn off simple file sharing on all of the computers, thus requiring a password. Without a password and without a domain, there's no way to keep unauthorized users out since there is nothing to stop them.

[Idontwantspam]

I think I explain pretty clearly how it works up above. Do you have any specific questions?

[tbs010]

I would like to do the opposite. I am running Windows Server 2003 and I am trying to share a folder, I set permission to everyone and when I try to open it on another computer it asks for "Username and password" is there anyway I can prevent this?

Thanks

[Idontwantspam]

I'm fairly certain that it will allways ask for username and password. Maybe you could try setting permissions for anonymous logon? I don't know... I don't think you can turn on simple file sharing in 2003.