Folder Sharing Security

[Mike]

Is there any way to password protect a shared folder in XP Pro?

I am on a network that is set up as a workgroup.
I am running Windows XP Professional.
There are many people on this workgroup network.
I would like to share a folder on my C: drive for files used between three
of us.
I don't want the rest of the workgroup to have access to the files.
I don't have any control over the network setup.
I can only control the settings on my computer.
Can I share a folder on my computer and then password protect it so that
only those who have the password can access the folder and its contents.

Any help would be greatly appriciated. Hopefully I've provided all
information nescessary.

Mike

 

[Malke]

Is there any way to password protect a shared folder in XP Pro?

I am on a network that is set up as a workgroup.
I am running Windows XP Professional.
There are many people on this workgroup network.
I would like to share a folder on my C: drive for files used between three
of us.
I don't want the rest of the workgroup to have access to the files.
I don't have any control over the network setup.
I can only control the settings on my computer.
Can I share a folder on my computer and then password protect it so that
only those who have the password can access the folder and its contents.

XP and Vista do not use passwords to protect resources. NT-based operating
systems use permissions instead. Here is information to help you with that:

How to disable Simple Sharing and set permissions on a shared folder in
Windows XP (Pro only)
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307874

HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove File and Folder Permissions in Windows
XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308418

Passwording of folders is not supported unless you zip them. When you do
(right click a folder, then "send to > compressed folder") and then open the
zip file, you will find an option under file>"add a password". Otherwise,
use third-party software. Google "password protect folders".

Malke

 

[Mike]

Malke,

Thanks for your reply. I will check out the first article.
The second article you mentioned appears to no longer be available.
(http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308418)

Mike

 

[Mike]

Malke,

I just tried it using the first article you mentioned. Apperently I'm doing
something wrong as I can't get it to work.

I turned off simple file sharing.
I created a user account (Cindy) on my machine and gave it a password.
I right-clicked on the folder I wanted to share, marked it to be shared, and
gave it a share name.
I went to Permissions, added the user Cindy, and gave that user Full Control.
Next I went to the Security tab and made sure the the user Cindy had Full
Control
Once I was finished with all of this, I went to another machine and tried to
access the folder on my machine.
When I tried to access it, it asked for a username and password.
I entered the username "Cindy" and the password that I had assigned the
account, but it won't let me in.
What am I missing?

Mike

 

[Malke]

Malke,

I just tried it using the first article you mentioned. Apperently I'm
doing something wrong as I can't get it to work.

I turned off simple file sharing.
I created a user account (Cindy) on my machine and gave it a password.
I right-clicked on the folder I wanted to share, marked it to be shared,
and gave it a share name.
I went to Permissions, added the user Cindy, and gave that user Full
Control. Next I went to the Security tab and made sure the the user Cindy
had Full Control
Once I was finished with all of this, I went to another machine and tried
to access the folder on my machine.
When I tried to access it, it asked for a username and password.
I entered the username "Cindy" and the password that I had assigned the
account, but it won't let me in.
What am I missing?

You're missing that setting up a user account and permissions on one machine
doesn't set up file/printer sharing in a Local Area Network. You got the
request for a username and password because you don't have matching user
accounts on both machines. Here is general information on setting up
file/printer sharing:

For XP, start by running the Network Setup Wizard on all machines (see
caveat in Item A below).

Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally caused
by 1) a misconfigured firewall; or 2) inadvertently running two firewalls
such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party firewall; and/or 3)
not having identical user accounts and passwords on all Workgroup machines;
4) trying to create shares where the operating system does not permit it.

A. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network (LAN)
traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing File/Printer
Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network Setup Wizard on
XP will take care of this for those machines.The only "gotcha" is that this
will turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a
third-party firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm
Protection" (like Norton 2006/07) which acts as a firewall, then you're
fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually configure the LAN allowance
with an IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you
would substitute your correct subnet. Do not run more than one firewall.

B. For ease of organization, put all computers in the same Workgroup. This
is done from the System applet in Control Panel, Computer Name tab.

C. Create matching user accounts and passwords on all machines. You do not
need to be logged into the same account on all machines and the passwords
assigned to each user account can be different; the accounts/passwords just
need to exist and match on all machines. If you wish a machine to boot
directly to the Desktop (into one particular user's account) for
convenience, you can do this. The instructions at this link work for both
XP and Vista:

Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

D. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center:

If you need Pro's ability to set fine-grained permissions, turn off Simple
File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab) and create identical user
accounts/passwords on all computers.

E. Create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users' home
directories or Program Files, but you can share folders inside those
directories. A better choice is to simply use the Shared Documents folder.

Malke

 

[Mike]

Malke,

Thanks again for the information. I think I'm beginning to understand how
to set this up.

Based on your reply I would ask, is it a bad thing to have it so that
another user would have to "login" to my machine? I find having one account
to setup and maintain rather appealing and I could just give out that user
name and password to those I want to be able to access my folder.

Would this work, or am I still missing something?

Mike

 

[Malke]

Malke,

Thanks again for the information. I think I'm beginning to understand how
to set this up.

Based on your reply I would ask, is it a bad thing to have it so that
another user would have to "login" to my machine? I find having one
account to setup and maintain rather appealing and I could just give out
that user name and password to those I want to be able to access my
folder.

Would this work, or am I still missing something?

The answer all depends on whether this your computers are in an office
and/or what your need for security is. Only you know this. As far as having
only one user account to maintain, if you create matching user accounts you
don't even ever have to log into the extra ones so no particular
maintenance is necessary.

Perhaps it would be helpful for you to do some reading about networks rather
than have this "conversation" in a newsgroup. I'm happy to answer specific
questions of course, but you may find it more time-efficient to look at
these links.

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/filesharing.htm (Home)
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp_filesharing/index.htm (Pro)
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/myths.htm
http://www.howtonetworking.com/default.htm
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/

Malke

 

[Mike]

Thanks for the extra links and for all your help.
I'll end this thread here and do some reading.
If I have any specific questions, I'll re-post.

Mike