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February 10, 2006
File sharing
Years ago when I first started doing tech support multiple computers in the house was restricted to computer geeks. Now it has become the norm as people buy a new system and give the 2nd system to the kids (or vice versa). I have 4 active systems in the house (not counting the Windows 95 system that isn't networked to the others).
As people add additional systems the need to share files comes into play a bit. There are three types of sharing that are common.:
Sharing across accounts:This is sharing individual files for multiple users on a single system. You will see this on xp systems represented by a shared documents folder. This is a common type of share, just remember that you don't want to share work related files with say your kids accounts.
Sharing across the network:
This is sharing a file over other systems in a local area network. This requires a connection between the systems either direct or through a router and permissions set on both systems to allow access. This is quite useful for moving things made on one computer to another but again care must be taken to make sure important documents aren't compromised. A good idea is to share in only one direction for example, give yourself permissions to access your kid's systems but not the reverse, or password folders that are shared. It may be necessary to tweak your firewall to do this.
Sharing over the net:This involves either a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or software such as Limewire (EVIL EVIL EVIL! as Mermaid man would say). In business situations this is done and high security levels are the norm here (if they are not then you are doing this very wrong).
On the home user end a lot of this sharing is music sharing by kids. Be VERY careful when doing this as it contains a ton of risks particularly if you have other programs that save to the same file that is shared. Also it involves a hole in your firewall that other nasty stuff might use to get in.
Be aware of the differences so you know the risks of each choice you make.
Posted by Peter at February 10, 2006 11:41 AM
Comments
Hi Peter,
Thank you very much for the Limewire info. That is exactly what my granddaughter was talking to me about, doing. I had no idea what she was talking about but thanks to you, I can send this article to her. Have a good mini III, Shirlee
Posted by: shirlee yates at February 23, 2006 10:45 PM