Passwords for File Sharing

[Tom]

I finally had to upgrade my peer-to-peer network of WIN98 computers to
XP Home.

Before the upgrade, I had the ability to safely share files on a network
occupied by other computers outside my work group by requiring a
password before granting access to my shared drives and folders.

XP Home doesn't seem to offer this safeguard; or so it seems to me. It
seems you can either give nothing, or everything (everything meaning
full access, with or without editing capability).

Some site I found suggested using a utility (SCE from Service Pack 4?).
I'm not sure if this path is still available. I suspect MSFT wants
you to buy XP Pro or set up an NT server in order to get password
protection, but I'm not sure.

The following MSFT paper suggests I have a severe limitations when using
FAT32 with XP.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308418/en-us
Because my files are still in FAT32, I may no longer have the password
protection previously available in WIN98 for files shared over a network.

If I buy XP Pro do I recover the password protection I lost by upgrading
to XP Home?

The XP installation prompts suggested keeping FAT32 since my hard drive
wasn't very big. I would probably have chosen FAT32 anyway, since I
have several legacy programs that might not work on NTFS. No XP
upgrades are available for my legacy database program and I can't
justify switching over to another database just to get some optional
functionality I might use once or twice a month.

Someone suggested I set a guest password by running "control
userpasswords2", but when I did that the network access was unchanged.
That is, if I allow sharing of the drive (simple file sharing(?) by
right clicking the drive) I give universal access over the network
without password protection. If I deny sharing, no one can get in and
no password prompt is offered.

I'm a little confused. I seem to have set a guest password, but without
any consequence. I don't see how I can even sit at the computer and log
on as "guest". Do I need to activate the guest access somehow?

Is it possible to safely share files with XP Home connected to a
network? Is password protection possible?

Tom

 

[Tom]

I'm a little confused. I seem to have set a guest password, but without
any consequence. I don't see how I can even sit at the computer and log
on as "guest". Do I need to activate the guest access somehow?

Is it possible to safely share files with XP Home connected to a
network? Is password protection possible?

Tom

I found by activating the guest account I can log in locally using the
guest password, but this does not give password protection on the
network, which is still either fully off or fully on (with editing
permission optional).

Tom

 

[Ron Martell]

Is it possible to safely share files with XP Home connected to a
network? Is password protection possible?

If you want to avoid the expense of upgrading to XP Pro then I suggest
you convert your hard drives to NTFS. Then you boot the computer on
which the shared files are stored into Safe Mode and set the file and
folder level security settings that you want.

Before converting the drives to NTFS you should read the article by
the late Alex Nichol MVP at http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm
as there are some considerations with respect to cluster size.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Tom]

If you want to avoid the expense of upgrading to XP Pro then I suggest
you convert your hard drives to NTFS. Then you boot the computer on
which the shared files are stored into Safe Mode and set the file and
folder level security settings that you want.

Before converting the drives to NTFS you should read the article by
the late Alex Nichol MVP at http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm
as there are some considerations with respect to cluster size.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

Ron:

Would I be correct in believing that whether I run XP Home or XP Pro, I
cannot get password protection for files shared on a network unless that
shared file is in NTFS format?

Tom

 

[Tom]

-----
Ron:

Would I be correct in believing that whether I run XP Home or XP Pro, I
cannot get password protection for files shared on a network unless that
shared file is in NTFS format?

Tom

I formatted a drive in NTFS went into safe mode and found I had
additional security functions. Once again, my NTFS drive is either no
access or full access (with optional editing) and no prompt for a
password.

I am beginning to suspect you need WIN98 or an NT server to prompt for
passwords over the network.

 

[Angus Comber]

Just so you know the security offered by Windows NT based computers is user
based. ie you setup a user on your computer hosting some files. Call that
user Joe. If you have a user called Joe on another computer you can then
access a shared folder over the network. But if you logon as Sally you will
not be able to access the shared folder. If you enable the Guest account
and share folders with Everyone Group then anyone can login and have full
access to your shared folders.

Windows 9x based computers do not offer this type of security. But you can,
as you mention, password protect shares.

But I do notice Windows XP Home does some strange things. Windows XP Pro is
more like Windows NT and Windows 2000 used to behave.

You can also use NTFS level file sharing.

Windows NT based security is significantly more powerful than Windows 9x
based security. It sounds like you want to make XP behave just like you are
used to with 98. It might be worth re-thinking.

Angus

 

[Nepatsfan]

[email protected],

I finally had to upgrade my peer-to-peer network of WIN98
computers to XP Home.

Before the upgrade, I had the ability to safely share files
on a network occupied by other computers outside my work
group by requiring a password before granting access to my
shared drives and folders.
XP Home doesn't seem to offer this safeguard; or so it seems
to me. It seems you can either give nothing, or everything
(everything meaning full access, with or without editing
capability).
Some site I found suggested using a utility (SCE from
Service Pack 4?). I'm not sure if this path is still
available. I suspect MSFT wants you to buy XP Pro or set up
an NT server in order to get
password protection, but I'm not sure.

The following MSFT paper suggests I have a severe
limitations when using FAT32 with XP.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308418/en-us
Because my files are still in FAT32, I may no longer have
the password protection previously available in WIN98 for
files shared over a network.
If I buy XP Pro do I recover the password protection I lost
by upgrading to XP Home?

The XP installation prompts suggested keeping FAT32 since my
hard drive wasn't very big. I would probably have chosen
FAT32 anyway, since I have several legacy programs that
might not work on NTFS. No XP upgrades are available for my
legacy database program and I can't justify switching over
to another database just to get some optional functionality
I might use once or twice a month.
Someone suggested I set a guest password by running "control
userpasswords2", but when I did that the network access was
unchanged. That is, if I allow sharing of the drive (simple
file sharing(?) by right clicking the drive) I give
universal access over the network without password
protection. If I deny sharing, no one can get in and no
password prompt is offered.
I'm a little confused. I seem to have set a guest password,
but without any consequence. I don't see how I can even sit
at the computer and log on as "guest". Do I need to
activate the guest access somehow?
Is it possible to safely share files with XP Home connected
to a network? Is password protection possible?

Tom

As you've already been told, you really need XP Pro in order to
accomplish your goal. That said, here's my take on your
problem.

First off, to properly set up a password on the Guest account,
take a look at this article:

Protecting Shared Folders In Windows XP Home
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_zdpcm/is_200302/ai_ziff35233#continue

Next, create your shares.
If you want to make changes to the permissions, you'll have to
boot into Safe Mode with Networking.
Note: Disable your Internet connection before you boot into
Safe Mode with Networking since your security software will not
be active.
Find the folder you shared and click on the Sharing tab.
The only permissions available are Full Control, Modify and
Read Only.
This applies to both FAT32 and NTFS partitions.

Keep in mind that every time you make a change on the computer
that's sharing the resources you'll need to log off and back on
to the other computers on the network in order for the changes
to take effect.

Also, here's some advice for the next time you post a question:

Why and how to crosspost
http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/usenet/xpost.html

Good luck

Nepatsfan