Password on a Shared Folder

[Guest]

How can I put a password on a shared folder in Win XP Home

Thanks.

 

[Eric Cross [MVP]]

Greetings Baza,

I'm sorry but Windows XP doesn't use passwords for shared folders or disks.
Since you are running Windows XP Home, here are your alternatives:

1) Create a hidden share and only tell selected people about the share.

2) Define a password to the Guest account. When any user tries to access
your computer, they'll be prompted to enter that password.

3) Create a compressed folder and define a password for it.

________________
Eric Cross, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

 

[Bob Willard]

Greetings Baza,

I'm sorry but Windows XP doesn't use passwords for shared folders or disks.
Since you are running Windows XP Home, here are your alternatives:

1) Create a hidden share and only tell selected people about the share.

2) Define a password to the Guest account. When any user tries to access
your computer, they'll be prompted to enter that password.

3) Create a compressed folder and define a password for it.

________________
Eric Cross, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

1) To clarify, a hidden share is one with a sharename that ends in
a $, like SECRET$.

2) Remember that, to use a Guest account, you must enable it.

3) AFAICT, passwords for compressed folders only work on XP PRO, but
maybe I just haven't found the way to enable it on XP HE. Do you
have an incantation?

 

[Eric Cross [MVP]]

Yes, a hidden share is a sharename with a dollar sign ('$') to the end of
the name. Creating compressed folders are available for both XP Home and
Professional. See the following Microsoft Knowledge Base Article.

HOW TO: Use Compressed (Zipped) Folders in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306531

_________________
Eric Cross, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

3) AFAICT, passwords for compressed folders only work on XP PRO, but
maybe I just haven't found the way to enable it on XP HE. Do you
have an incantation?

I've recommended passwords on compressed folders many times, Bob, so I
just ran a test. They work fine on XP Home Edition.

When I open a passworded compressed folder, I can see the files in it.
When I try to open one of the files, I get the password prompt.

This Microsoft Knowledge Base article shows how to set it up:

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

 

[Kent W. England [MVP]]

2) Remember that, to use a Guest account, you must enable it.

Enabling Guest account only enables it for console login. You don't have
to enable the Guest account to set a password for network access.

 

[Bob Willard]

I've recommended passwords on compressed folders many times, Bob, so I
just ran a test. They work fine on XP Home Edition.

When I open a passworded compressed folder, I can see the files in it.
When I try to open one of the files, I get the password prompt.

This Microsoft Knowledge Base article shows how to set it up:

HOW TO: Use Compressed (Zipped) Folders in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306531

Thanks for trying that for me, Steve. The specific problem on my XP HE
PCs is that, when I select a compressed folder, the File Menu does not
have an entry for "Add a Password" for any flavor of Clicking on that
compressed folder (Click, Double-click, Right-click, Control-Click,
Shift-Click, Alt-Click, SacrificeChicken-Click, etc.).

My mouse double-click speed is the default, which works for me. I've
tried creating compressed folders at a couple of points in the tree,
with the same result: they are compressed (denoted by color and by size,
but I can't add a password. NTFS, not FAT. XP HE, with SP1 on one PC,
and probably on both.

I have installed WinZip on both, and that does change some of Explorer's
menus. Do you think it might be the culprit? Does the XP HE PC you
used have WinZip installed? Any other suspects?

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Thanks for trying that for me, Steve. The specific problem on my XP HE
PCs is that, when I select a compressed folder, the File Menu does not
have an entry for "Add a Password" for any flavor of Clicking on that
compressed folder (Click, Double-click, Right-click, Control-Click,
Shift-Click, Alt-Click, SacrificeChicken-Click, etc.).

My mouse double-click speed is the default, which works for me. I've
tried creating compressed folders at a couple of points in the tree,
with the same result: they are compressed (denoted by color and by size,
but I can't add a password. NTFS, not FAT. XP HE, with SP1 on one PC,
and probably on both.

I have installed WinZip on both, and that does change some of Explorer's
menus. Do you think it might be the culprit? Does the XP HE PC you
used have WinZip installed? Any other suspects?

You answered your own question, Bob: WinZip is the culprit. When
installed, it takes over the "compressed folder" functionality and
removes the built-in Windows XP functionality.

I have WinZip 8.1 on an XP Professional system. Clicking Options |
Password can put a password on a zip file.
--
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

 

[Bob Willard]

You answered your own question, Bob: WinZip is the culprit. When
installed, it takes over the "compressed folder" functionality and
removes the built-in Windows XP functionality.

I have WinZip 8.1 on an XP Professional system. Clicking Options |
Password can put a password on a zip file.

Thanks again, Steve. Sure enough, I tried it on a XP HE PC which had
never been touched by WinZip, and everything works as per the M$ KB
article.

Bloody shame, since WinZip is so popular, that installing it breaks a
rather useful XP feature.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Thanks again, Steve. Sure enough, I tried it on a XP HE PC which had
never been touched by WinZip, and everything works as per the M$ KB
article.

Bloody shame, since WinZip is so popular, that installing it breaks a
rather useful XP feature.

You're welcome, Bob. How does WinZip break a useful XP feature?
WinZip has a password feature, as I mentioned above. In fact, you can
put different passwords on different files. Each time you specify a
password for the archive file, that password applies to all files that
you subsequently add. Old files can have different passwords.
--
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

 

[Baza]

Thanks very much for hte suggestions.

I would very much prefer NOT to use the compressed folder
option (irrational fear?) so I will try the other options.

As I sometimes make these shares temporarily and want to
find them by browsing with win explorer - sharing an
existing folder - it seems to me that the password on the
Guest account would best suit my needs.

However I just want to clarify how to do this as Kent has
replied and advised that I don't need to enable the Guest
account to set a password for network access.

Thanks.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Thanks very much for hte suggestions.

I would very much prefer NOT to use the compressed folder
option (irrational fear?) so I will try the other options.

As I sometimes make these shares temporarily and want to
find them by browsing with win explorer - sharing an
existing folder - it seems to me that the password on the
Guest account would best suit my needs.

However I just want to clarify how to do this as Kent has
replied and advised that I don't need to enable the Guest
account to set a password for network access.

Thanks.

To set a password for the Guest account:

1. Click Start | Run.
2. Type "control userpasswords2" in the box and click OK.
3. Under "Users for this computer", click Guest.
4. Click Reset Password, enter a password, and click OK.

As Kent noted, it makes no difference whether the Guest account is
enabled in Control Panel | User Accounts. That setting determines
whether someone can log on as Guest from the computer's keyboard. It
doesn't affect networked access.
--
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

 

[Guest]

Thanks Steve - it works perfectly.

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

 

[Bob Willard]

You're welcome, Bob. How does WinZip break a useful XP feature?
WinZip has a password feature, as I mentioned above. In fact, you can
put different passwords on different files. Each time you specify a
password for the archive file, that password applies to all files that
you subsequently add. Old files can have different passwords.

The feature that I assumed and hoped for with XP's Compressed/Zipped folder
capability was ease of use; I assumed that Compressed/Zipped folders would
act like Compressed folders (with optional passwords), offering transparent
R/W access from apps. But, now that I've experimented with XP's
Compressed/Zipped folders a bit, it is clear that they are no easier to
use than WinZip -- OK for creating archives, but too clumsy for sharing
frequently-changed files.

It is really a shame that the XP gang did not implement the W9x scheme of
passwords for shares. Since XP has been marketed as the successor to W9x,
and lots of W9x users had networks which counted on shares for passwords,
there has been a steady stream of unhappy W9x-XP migrants.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

It is really a shame that the XP gang did not implement the W9x scheme of
passwords for shares. Since XP has been marketed as the successor to W9x,
and lots of W9x users had networks which counted on shares for passwords,
there has been a steady stream of unhappy W9x-XP migrants.

I agree. "Simple file sharing", which has no access control, is
simply awful. All of the suggestions that I make for how to control
access (hidden shares, compressed folders, password on Guest account,
etc) are kludgey ways to overcome a bad design.
--
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