Advanced sharing in Windows Vista

In our college I face a lot of problem accessing the folders shared by someone using vista . The problem is that to access the shared file I am asked a user name and password. And I'm tired of telling each and everyone the process to remove it. This can be done in the following way.

To remove this and some other recommended settings:

• Right click on the network icon and select "Network and Sharing Center".
• Click on the down arrow beside the "Password protected sharing".
• Check "Turn off password protected sharing". Click "Apply".
• Turn off "Public folder sharing", "Printer sharing" and "Media sharing"(sharing by Windows Media Player), if they are not required, in the same way as the above step.

If while accessing the shared folder it still asks for a password, or the folders simply don't open, that means your "Guest" login is not enabled while sharing. In order to correct it (i.e. enable guest login):

• Right click on the folder U want to share.
• Choose properties & click on the sharing portion.
• Click on the "Change sharing permissions" button.
• You will get a list of user name on your OS or the name by which you are logged on. Above it there is a space for entering a new user.
• Click on the arrow pointing down. Among a list of users click on the "Guest" or "Everyone" option and press the “Add” button.
• If you do not want the others to change the content of your folder keep the rights of the guest as “Reader”, else you can change it according to your need.

In case the "Share..." button in the "Sharing properties" is not highlighted or non-clickable:

• Click on the “Advanced Sharing” button.
• Now, check the box for “Share this folder”.
• Click on the "Permissions" button to set the permission of the sharing.
• In case "Everyone" is not in the list of "Group or user names", click on "Add..." and add "Everyone" in the dialog box.
• Click "OK".
• In the "Permissions for Everyone" header check the box "Read" and not the others. This will provide only read facility to others, rather than give modify capabilities as well.
• Select "Apply", then “Ok”.
  

Enjoy!