Windows 7 Annoyances

Share Files and Printers

There are so many things you can do with even a basic network; just a few of them are described in Chapter 7. But one of the best uses for the connection between the PCs in your office or home is to exchange data.

In Windows 7, traditional file sharing is a two-step process. First, you share a folder on one PC, and then someone on another PC reads or even modifies the files in that shared folder. Windows uses the user account system discussed throughout this Chapter to protect your shared data from prying eyes, and the permission system to give you the power to determine exactly what others can and can’t do with your shared files. Civilized, isn’t it?

Sharing folders is for more than just sending stuff from one PC to another, too. Multiple users can collaborate on a project by working on the same files, and avoid having several versions of each document floating around. (There are limits, of course; for instance, you can’t modify a Word document if someone else currently has it open. But database programs like Microsoft Access let multiple users read and write to the same file simultaneously under certain circumstances.)

Naturally the PC hosting the shared folder must be powered on for others to be able to access the folder, but the person who shared the files doesn’t necessarily have to be logged in.

But here’s the rub: the defaults in Windows 7 could allow anyone on your network to read your files, yet permit nobody to modify them. It’s just a matter of knowing ...