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Secure File and Print Sharing in Windows XP
File and printer sharing allows Windows 2000/XP machines to act as file/print servers. By default, when file and printer sharing is enabled, it is not secure, and can open the system to malicious attacks. For this reason, it is recommended that file and printer sharing not be enabled. Please contact Client Services for advice on other alternatives.
If file and printer sharing must be enabled, the following guidelines need to be followed to make sharing as secure as possible:
To install File and Printer Sharing:
- Right click on My Network Places and select Properties.
- Right click on the network connection with which you would like to enable sharing, select Properties.
- Click on Install, select Service from the new dialogue window, and click on Add.
- Select File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks, then click OK.
- Once the service has been added, click OK to exit the Local Area Connection Properties dialogue box.
- Go to Administrative Tools located in the Control Panel.
- Enable the Server service through the Services control panel by setting it to Automatic. Start the Server service.
- Next open Local Security Policy.
- Under User Rights Assignments, double click on "Access this computer from the network."
- Add the user you would like to give remote access to, for example, OISSOMNT\tester. This means that the only user able to remotely access your machine is the user tester from the OISSOMNT domain.
- Finally, locate the folder or printer and share it. Limit the number of remote connections to the exact number of remote users that are to access the share.
| Please note: If you are running the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) on Windows XP, you will need to change settings in the ICF configuration. For more info, please refer to Microsoft's article on Troubleshooting ICF. |