Guest account

[Sam]

When you turn off Guest in the Control Panel, does it
effect the Network on Windows XP?

 

[Guest]

Yes that is possible. It can depend on how you have the
folder/directory permissions set up. If the userid that
is trying to access a given folder does not have
permission to access that folder and you have now denied
the guest account permission to access that folder then,
that folder may not be accessible, except by the
administrator account or any other userid that does have
permission to access the given folder.

 

[Chuck]

When you turn off Guest in the Control Panel, does it
effect the Network on Windows XP?

Sam,

If your computer is running XP Home, or XP Pro with Simple File Sharing, the
Guest account needs to be enabled for file sharing across the network. For XP
Pro with Simple File Sharing disabled and Local Security Policy set to Classic,
you will not need a Guest account enabled.

This article by Microsoft should explain it all - but have a large pot of coffee
handy.
<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...db-aef8-4bef-925e-7ac9be791028&DisplayLang=en>

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

When you turn off Guest in the Control Panel, does it
effect the Network on Windows XP?

Turning off the Guest account in Control Panel | User Accounts has no
effect on networking. It prevents someone from logging on as Guest at
the keyboard of the local computer.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Chuck]

Turning off the Guest account in Control Panel | User Accounts has no
effect on networking. It prevents someone from logging on as Guest at
the keyboard of the local computer.

Are you sure, Steve?

Connecting to a Windows XP Shared Folder
The behavior of connecting to a folder or printer that is shared from a computer
running Windows XP depends on whether simple or advanced file sharing is being
used.
Connecting When Simple File Sharing is Being Used
For simple file sharing, which includes access to the Shared Documents folder,
the set of credentials sent by the connecting client are essentially ignored.
All access is based on the status of the Guest account on the computer running
Windows XP. The Guest account is enabled by default; however, you cannot use it
to logon to the computer. As long as the Guest account is enabled as an account,
client computers can access shared folders using simple file sharing.
Connecting When Advanced File Sharing is Being Used
In order to connect to a Windows XP Professional shared folder when advanced
file sharing is being used, you must be:
" Using a set of credentials that Windows XP can validate (it is either a
local computer account or a domain account) and has been granted the Read,
Change, or Full Control access type either explicitly (the account name) or
though group membership, as specified in the permissions of the shared folder.
" Using a set of credentials that Windows XP cannot validate, and either
the domain Guest account or the local Guest account has been enabled and has
been granted the Read, Change, or Full Control access type either explicitly
(the Guest account name) or though group membership, as specified in the
permissions of the shared folder.
You can be denied access to a Windows XP shared folder through the following:
" The account name in the credentials sent by the connecting client is a
valid user name, but the password is incorrect.
" The account name in the credentials sent by the connecting client is a
user name that cannot be validated by Windows XP and the domain Guest and the
local computer Guest accounts are either disabled or are not specified via the
permissions of the shared folder. The domain Guest is disabled by default and
the local computer Guest account is enabled by default for computers that are
members of a workgroup and disabled by default for computers that are members of
a domain.
" The account name and password in the credentials sent by the connecting
client can be validated by Windows XP, but either access has not been granted or
all types of access are set to Deny either explicitly (the account name) or
though group membership.

File and Printer Sharing with Microsoft® Windows®

Microsoft Corporation
Published: November 2003

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Turning off the Guest account in Control Panel | User Accounts has no
effect on networking. It prevents someone from logging on as Guest at
the keyboard of the local computer.

Are you sure, Steve?
[big snip]

Hi, Chuck. I've tested it many times, and I'm sure that's how it
works. Have you seen different behavior? If so, please give details.

There ARE ways of controlling networked access via the Guest account,
but they don't use Control Panel, which is what Sam asked about:

1. At a command prompt, type:

net user guest /active:yes ;enable access
net user guest /active:no ;disable access

2. In Windows XP Professional:

a. Right click My Computer.
b. Click Manage.
c. Click Local Users and Groups.
d. Double click Users.
e. Double click Guest.
f. Check (to disable access) or un-check (to enable access)
"Account is disabled".

Note 1: The Guest account is only used for networked access when the
computer belongs to a workgroup and simple file sharing is enabled.

Note 2: After disabling and enabling networked access, you might need
to reset the password for the Guest account:

1. Go to Start | Run, type "control userpasswords2", and click OK.
2. Click Guest.
3. Click Reset Password.
4. Click OK without entering a new password.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Lisa Spielman]

Steve,

Note 1: The Guest account is only used for networked access when the
computer belongs to a workgroup and simple file sharing is enabled.

What happens if you give the guest account a password? Will the pc trying
to get access
to the shared folder get prompted for a password or will it just fail?

I have XP Home so I have to use simple file sharing, but I would like to
protect a few
shared folders from a few pc's on the network.

Is there any way in 'XP Home' to allow 2 pc's on the network to access it's
shared folders,
but not allow 2 other pc's to see the shared folders.

Lisa

When you turn off Guest in the Control Panel, does it
effect the Network on Windows XP?

Turning off the Guest account in Control Panel | User Accounts has no
effect on networking. It prevents someone from logging on as Guest at
the keyboard of the local computer.

Are you sure, Steve?
[big snip]

Hi, Chuck. I've tested it many times, and I'm sure that's how it
works. Have you seen different behavior? If so, please give details.

There ARE ways of controlling networked access via the Guest account,
but they don't use Control Panel, which is what Sam asked about:

1. At a command prompt, type:

net user guest /active:yes ;enable access
net user guest /active:no ;disable access

2. In Windows XP Professional:

a. Right click My Computer.
b. Click Manage.
c. Click Local Users and Groups.
d. Double click Users.
e. Double click Guest.
f. Check (to disable access) or un-check (to enable access)
"Account is disabled".

Note 1: The Guest account is only used for networked access when the
computer belongs to a workgroup and simple file sharing is enabled.

Note 2: After disabling and enabling networked access, you might need
to reset the password for the Guest account:

1. Go to Start | Run, type "control userpasswords2", and click OK.
2. Click Guest.
3. Click Reset Password.
4. Click OK without entering a new password.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Steve,


What happens if you give the guest account a password? Will the pc trying
to get access
to the shared folder get prompted for a password or will it just fail?

The PC trying to get access will get prompted for a password and,
possibly, a user name.

If the requesting PC runs XP, the user name will be automatically set
to Computer\Guest", where "Computer" is the name of the computer being
accessed.

If the requesting PC runs Windows 2000, specify the user name "Guest"
and the password for the Guest account.

If the requesting PC runs Windows 95/98/Me, the user name will be
automatically set to "Computer/IPC$", where "Computer" is the name of
the computer being accessed, and "IPC$" stands for "Inter-Process
Communication".

I have XP Home so I have to use simple file sharing, but I would like to
protect a few
shared folders from a few pc's on the network.

Is there any way in 'XP Home' to allow 2 pc's on the network to access it's
shared folders,
but not allow 2 other pc's to see the shared folders.

Lisa

I'm sorry, Lisa, but XP Home can't control networked access based on
which computer is requesting it.

Here are some ways to control access to your shared folders:

1. Create a hidden share and only tell selected people about it. I've
written a web page with details:

Windows XP Simple File Sharing
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/filesharing.htm

2. Assign a password to the "Guest" account. When other people try
to access your computer, they'll be prompted for the password as
described above:

a. Click Start | Run.
b. Type "control userpasswords2" in the box and click OK.
c. Under "Users for this computer", click Guest.
d. Click Reset Password, enter a password, and click OK.

3. Create a compressed folder and define a password for it. Everyone
who accesses the folder, from the local computer or from the network,
must specify the password to access the files in the compressed
folder. This Microsoft Knowledge Base article has details:

HOW TO: Use Compressed (Zipped) Folders in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306531
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[lisa]

Thanks Steve.

Guest account with password

If the requesting PC runs Windows 95/98/Me, the user
name will be automatically set to "Computer/IPC$",
where "Computer" is the name of the computer being
accessed, and "IPC$" stands for "Inter-Process

Communication".

I do have a Win98 pc accessing the shared folder on XP
Home.
Do I need to create an account called IPC or can I
overlay IPC$ with guest and then enter the guest password?

I think I will password the guest account and make the
shared folders hidden.

Thanks for your help.

Lisa

-----Original Message-----

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Thanks Steve.

Guest account with password
Communication".

I do have a Win98 pc accessing the shared folder on XP
Home.
Do I need to create an account called IPC or can I
overlay IPC$ with guest and then enter the guest password?

I think I will password the guest account and make the
shared folders hidden.

Thanks for your help.

Lisa

You're welcome!

You don't need to create an account called IPC on either computer, and
you can't change it in the window that appears on Win98. All you need
to do is enter the Guest password when Win98 asks for it.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Bruce Hawkins]

One idea you did not mention that I have heard about but have not been able
to make work is to turn on the firewall on the machine with the shared
folders and set up a VPN connection between the 2 machines. Is that a
workable approch??
Bruce Hawkins.