Secure Log on

OK, maybe somebody here knows... I will be setting up a home network tonight (dsl modem -> wireless router -> desktop + laptop) and I have 2 questions:

1 Is it safe to leave the computer set up with XP's easy click user to log on or should I set it up so that users (my wife and I) have to do the ctrl-alt-delete thing to log on first

2 If I enable file sharing for "everyone", does that mean anyone on the internet can get on my PC, or will it be everyone on the router side ?

Thanks

 

1) Unless you're worried about someone in your house accessing the computer, the standard login is fine.

2) Just people on your network and workgroup.

 

Thanks Brian

 

You always could go a step further regarding the filesharing by restricting access to specific accounts. If the HDD's are formatted with NTFS (most are these days), you can right click a certain folder you have shared and select the Share/Security option. You can then put both of your accounts into the list. This will prevent other people from gaining access to the shared folders/files. But this is probably going a bit overboard for a home network for 2 people.

-Vb-

 

Venom, how would I do this? I don't see users of one computer on the other. For example, I can't see my laptop user profile on the desktop when trying to set sharing permissions, so I can't tell it to let the laptop user access the desktop folder.

 

You would create a new user account for each person you want access to the folders. You can then set the level of access to each file/folder depending on the account used.

For example, your wife has her account on her computer called Wife that she uses to log into her computer. You would then manually add the account Wife and setup a password for that account on your computer. Now when you share any folder, you just have to add the account Wife to the list and set her access levels. When she tries to access the folder, it may prompt her for a password (if it's different from the created account password), if it does, just enter it and she should have access to that folder.

Now, if anyone sees a problem to my suggestion, please correct me.

Thanks,

-Vb-