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Important Student Information on Downloading Files

File and Print Sharing (Windows)

Summary

Many users in the residential halls are unaware that they have unprotected file shares open to the world for anybody to access. A malicious user can exploit this vulnerability to run code and/or gain full control of the unprotected computer without the user ever knowing until it is to late. One way to protect your computer from this scenario is to disable File and Print Sharing or password-protect all shared folders. But, even password-protecting your file shares doesn't necessarily mean you are protected (see Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS00-072).

Disabling File and Print Sharing

If you don't share files or printers with other users, then the best way to protect your computer from unwanted quests is to disable the file and print sharing feature on your Windows computer. To do so, follow these steps:

Windows 95/98/ME

1. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel, Network. Your screen should look similar to Figure 1.

         Figure 1: Network Control Panel Dialog Box

2. Select File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks and click on the Remove button.

3. Click the OK button and you will be asked to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

 

Windows 2000/XP

1. For Windows XP click Start, Control Panel, Network and Internet Connections and under pick a Control Panel icon, click Network Connections.

For Windows 2000, click Start, Settings, Control Panel, and click on the Network and Dial-up Connections icon.

2. In the Network Connections dialog box right click Local Area Connection and select Properties from the menu. The Local Area Connection dialog box opens (Figure 2).

                   Figure 2: Local Area Connection Properties.

3. Select File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks and remove the check mark from the box or click the Uninstall button to remove the service from your computer.

4. To apply your changes, click the OK button and you will be asked to restart your computer for the changes to take affect.

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