Workgroups

[Guest]

I work in an environment where we have two groups of people. Students and
professors. When I first arrived I was thrown into the networking position
for our computers. We were on one workgroup. I have since then realized
that the students were able to see the professors shared drives and use the
printers. I created the students their own workgroup, but when I look under
networking connections, it still shows the professor workgroup and I can't
get it to remove. How do I make it so that the professor group doesn't show
up on the limited user student network window? Some computers use windows
2000 and some use windows xp. The student computers are in one workgroup and
they all look to one computer for driver information (printers, etc).

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

I work in an environment where we have two groups of people. Students and
professors. When I first arrived I was thrown into the networking position
for our computers. We were on one workgroup. I have since then realized
that the students were able to see the professors shared drives and use the
printers. I created the students their own workgroup, but when I look under
networking connections, it still shows the professor workgroup and I can't
get it to remove. How do I make it so that the professor group doesn't show
up on the limited user student network window? Some computers use windows
2000 and some use windows xp. The student computers are in one workgroup and
they all look to one computer for driver information (printers, etc).

Unfortunately, Windows workgroup (peer-to-peer) networking wasn't
designed to do what you want.

Workgroups let you classify groups of computers for organizational
purposes. They don't provide any type of security or access control.
As you've discovered, a computer in any workgroup can access a
computer in any workgroup.

By design, Windows makes it easy to find other computers on a
workgroup network by showing all of them, regardless of what workgroup
they're in. I know of no way to control which computers can see which
computers on the network.

The only sure solution I can think of is to create two separate
physical networks. Connect the students to one network, and connect
the professors to the other one.

If that isn't possible, you can control access to the professors'
computers by making sure that all of them use Windows 2000 or Windows
XP Professional, not Windows XP Home Edition.

Windows 2000 only allows another person to access its shared folders
and printers if that person has an account on the Windows 2000
Professional computer. Windows XP Professional does the same if you
disable simple file sharing:

1. Click Start > My Computer > Tools > Folder Options > View.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the list of advanced settings.
3. Un-check Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended).
4. Click OK.
--
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

 

[Memphis Tom]

Can you build two different network (two subnet) and using sinple VPN
endpoint Router to connect two networks
disable NetBIOS Broadcast feature on VPN Router setting.
At least Workgroup name would not appear on network place.