restricting access to shared folders to specific users on WLAN or LAN

A

anfjavid

Contributor
hello friends, i want to hide some shared folders from some computers . For ex. If i have 4 computers, i have to hide 2 shared folders from to 2 of the computers. Please tell me how to do this in wired and wireless network..

Any help would be much appreciated
 
What OS? You can share whatever folders with only the user names of the machines needing access. You'll of course have to have user accounts with the same user names in the host machine.
 
i am using windows xp and windows 7. Please give me step by step instructions on both these Oses on how to restrict access to certain users. And by host computer you mean client pc or server pc ??
 
What OS are you running on server/ clients? Instructions will differ.

I meant if you want to share a folder with "Userone" on a client, you'll need to have "Userone" as a user name on the server. Both should have the same User name and password.
 
or else you can go 3rd party application way...

dc++ hub server running with 'registered only' option where only the users which the owner/admin registers will get access to whole share. you wont have to setup any windows accounts and it works with linux too regardless of host/client OS.

ptokaX is the hub server software.. pretty simple and self explanatory for someone who can setup TCP/IP

for client software...

try apexdc++ (apexdc.net) on windows and linuxdc over linux.

the server software will only help you host server.

you will have to install client on the host machine and connect to its own server to host files all the time.. the sharing is very easy and you can limit the speed just incase if there are other application which may require network bandwidth

logging out now
 
The O/s is Win 7 and WInXP both are 32bit versions and i run a peer to peer network. In this case what should i do ?. I will give the scenario. Please tell me how to set it up.

4 Pcs - Namely - anfjavid1 anfjavid2 anfjavid3 anfjavid4 - All connected to ADSL 2+ ethernet ports.

have two folders which belong to anfjavid1 which are to be shared with anfjavid4 alone. What to do ?.
 
anfjavid said:
The O/s is Win 7 and WInXP both are 32bit versions and i run a peer to peer network. In this case what should i do ?. I will give the scenario. Please tell me how to set it up.

4 Pcs - Namely - anfjavid1 anfjavid2 anfjavid3 anfjavid4 - All connected to ADSL 2+ ethernet ports.

have two folders which belong to anfjavid1 which are to be shared with anfjavid4 alone. What to do ?.
Click to expand...

Ok, I'm assuming anfjavid1 is running Win7 and the rest are on XP. Lets say the user account names are the same as mentioned above. On anfjavid1, create a new user by the name of anfjavid4 and use the same password as being used on anfjavid4. Go to the folders you want to share and right click>share with>specific people. From a drop down, select anfjavid4 and allot the proper user rights (read or read/write). Click on share and you're done.

If anfjavid4 were a Win 7 rig, you'd have to do an additional change.
Navigate to Network and Sharing Center>Advanced sharing settings and select "Use user accounts and passwords to connect to other computers" under "Homegroup connections".

If anfjavid1 is on XP, you'd have to do same thing, but go about it in a different way. It's somewhere there in the folder properties but can't recall as I don't have any rigs running XP since the 7 RC release.
 
anfjavid said:
The O/s is Win 7 and WInXP both are 32bit versions and i run a peer to peer network. In this case what should i do ?. I will give the scenario. Please tell me how to set it up.

4 Pcs - Namely - anfjavid1 anfjavid2 anfjavid3 anfjavid4 - All connected to ADSL 2+ ethernet ports.

have two folders which belong to anfjavid1 which are to be shared with anfjavid4 alone. What to do ?.
Click to expand...

i hope you already know how to configure TCP/IP

set IP of all the machines under same gateway.

download and extract Win32 GUI version from PtokaX Direct Connect Hub for any windows 32/64.

start PtokaX.exe
under settings..
General >> Hub IP = IP of the machine you are using this software on.

General>>More General>> check box 'Allow only registered users'

Click Accept.

now click on Registered Users..
Click new..
create users with passwords.. you can use this login info for clients on other machines..
also create one user for this machine so that you can share files..select type = admin for this user.
close the users box once done..
click 'Start Hub'
now download and install appropriate dc++ client from ApexDC++ - The Pinnacle of File-Sharing
note that 32bit version of this works on both win x86 and x86-64.

launch apexdc++ after install..
it will bring up settings box.. username/nickname info to be filled as created in ptokaX.
you can share folders with 'sharing' tab under setting.
same can be repeated for clients on all desired machines.

/* optional
Also under settings>>Advanced>>Experts only
the last option
Userlist double click action...
change it to 'Get file list' from 'Browse file list'
*/

after this is done.. (after pressing ok/done etc)
press ctrl+Q (or select quick connect from File Menu.)
it will prompt for address.. put address = IP of the host machine = IP that you put in ptokaX
hit enter..
it will prompt for password on connection...once authenticated..you will be able to browse and download whatever you want from the share.

all of this will sound confusing if you decide to execute it after reading all directly..
instead.. follow the download links and down both... and follow step by step.
 
^ Madnav great set of instructions but why are you not letting the guy do it the plain old Windows way like Naga suggested? :)

Simple logic

Situation 1 (The sharing machine is running Windows 7)

1. Create a dummy user named "Share". Give it a password too.

2. Now, go to the folder you want to share with particular computer.

3. While sharing, select the user "Share" and only share it with him.

4. That's it!

Situation 2 (The sharing machine is running Windows XP)

1. Go to Folder options from Control Panel.

2. In view, scroll down to the bottom of the list and uncheck "Use simple file sharing".

3. Now go to the folder you want to share. Right click>Properties.

4. Now you should see Sharing and a new Security tab on top.

5. As in the previous case, create a user Share with a password.

6. Now, in the sharing and security, add the user Share to both tabs.

7. Done. Go have a kit-kat or something..

In both the cases, only give the username and password to the computer users you want.
 
Sei said:
^ Madnav great set of instructions but why are you not letting the guy do it the plain old Windows way like Naga suggested? :)
Click to expand...

The reason is that the settings of both clients and server exit within the respective software folders.

One only needs to back up those settings/folders.

nothing is lost if your OS crashes.. all one needs t do after OS reinstall/change or even after platform change is use the folders which were backed up.. (installation is not required either :) ..they can run stand alone.)

so maintenance comes down to TCP/IP configuration (and maybe firewall exclusion list) in case if anything happens to the OS on any machine.. :)

lastly..this approach gives the access based on username + password.. which give you the opportunity to get instant access from any machine on the same/supported IP range without having to tinker with server machine.
 
Naga said:
^^I suppose transfer speeds will be limited by your net connection as opposed to your network connection?
Click to expand...

no we actually get speeds almost saturating the lan bandwidth..unless limited by uploading client... (as long as we are considering a private/open LAN with managed TCP/IP)

i get speed ranging in 1-8mBps on dc++ lan over 5net which is spread widely in mumbai with almost 250-500 users in hub most of the times.

i have tried speeds on private lan network consisting of one desktop and one lappy using ipmsg (ip messenger) and speed ranges in 7-12mBps ..
moreover, the direct connect client is just like other p2p clients with options to manage downloads etc.
 
Guys i tried Naga's method. I created a user name test in both the pcs ( DT pc where shared files are located and my laptop in which i want to access shared files) and i shared the folder to specific people test and both pcs run windows 7. But i am able to access the files even through a different user name in my laptop... Actually the files which are shared with a particular user name must be accessible only when logged on through that user name, right ??. Correct me if i am wrong. I am very weak in networking guys.

Please gimme some time meanwhile ill try it again and report back..
 
Go to properties for the shared folder> sharing tab> advanced sharing>permissions. Remove "everyone" if it's there.

Edit: You are using passwords, right?
 
yes i am using password for both pcs in win 7. I do have win xp in both pcs but i havent set password for them. Anyway these days i use only wn 7 and win xp very rarely..

@naga : Thanx for your help. will try it and report back.
 
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