How do I Password protect specific folders while leaving others public


  1. davidinblack
    Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Ultimate x32 and 64
       New #1

    How do I Password protect specific folders while leaving others public


    Hi I have a PC running windows 7 set up to share folders, currently with password protected sharing turned off.

    I would like to password protect certain shared folders while not requiring a password login for others (completely public). I would like to know if there is a built in mechanism for this or even a third party application.

    What I've tried:


    • Adding a local user account and password to a shared folder the problem is that because password protected sharing is set to off you simply are told you can't access the folder and no prompt is given for the password
    • With password sharing turned on and public folders set to shared to everyone, users are prompted for a password even before getting the listed directories.

    Hope you guys can help,


    Thanks!
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  3. chev65
    Posts : 8,870
    Windows 7 Ult, Windows 8.1 Pro,
       New #2

    davidinblack said:
    Hi I have a PC running windows 7 set up to share folders, currently with password protected sharing turned off.

    I would like to password protect certain shared folders while not requiring a password login for others (completely public). I would like to know if there is a built in mechanism for this or even a third party application.

    What I've tried:


    • Adding a local user account and password to a shared folder the problem is that because password protected sharing is set to off you simply are told you can't access the folder and no prompt is given for the password
    • With password sharing turned on and public folders set to shared to everyone, users are prompted for a password even before getting the listed directories.
    Hope you guys can help,


    Thanks!
    From what I can tell, password protected sharing is either on or off for all folders. I haven't seen any third party programs to change this.

    It sounds like you are trying to set up shares so that some users can access specific shares while other Network Users can not?

    There are ways to accomplish this but the procedure is different than you might think.
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  4. boohbah
    Posts : 14,606
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7600
       New #3

    you could try a third party app, i use winmend forlder hidden and it works fine.

    WinMend Folder Hidden - Safely and quickly hide files and folders.
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  6. davidinblack
    Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Ultimate x32 and 64
    Thread Starter
       New #4

    chev65 said:
    davidinblack said:
    Hi I have a PC running windows 7 set up to share folders, currently with password protected sharing turned off.

    I would like to password protect certain shared folders while not requiring a password login for others (completely public). I would like to know if there is a built in mechanism for this or even a third party application.

    What I've tried:


    • Adding a local user account and password to a shared folder the problem is that because password protected sharing is set to off you simply are told you can't access the folder and no prompt is given for the password
    • With password sharing turned on and public folders set to shared to everyone, users are prompted for a password even before getting the listed directories.
    Hope you guys can help,


    Thanks!
    From what I can tell, password protected sharing is either on or off for all folders. I haven't seen any third party programs to change this.

    It sounds like you are trying to set up shares so that some users can access specific shares while other Network Users can not?

    There are ways to accomplish this but the procedure is different than you might think.
    You almost have it spot on, basically I want certain folders to be completely accessible without a password and username prompt and certain folders to only be accessible by certain people.

    I considered using $ but some users on my network use android and linux so that won't work.

    Please by all means share what you got in mind :) even if it means sharing the "secure folders" via another method and vise versa .

    Appreciate the help guys thanks!
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  7. chev65
    Posts : 8,870
    Windows 7 Ult, Windows 8.1 Pro,
       New #5

    My way would be using Windows built in sharing and no third party software is involved.

    I would need to know the requirements of this sharing scenario, how many Users require special access etc.

    We need at least two Windows 7 or 8 machines to create a Homegroup, this Homegroup will prevent workgroup machines from gaining access to all files and folders unless they are added to the Public folders or shared with Everyone.

    You can also share out entire Library's if required but only those Library's which are shared with "Everyone" will be viewable outside of the Homegroup.

    This is very easy to set up but I'd have to know the requirements of this User.
    Last edited by chev65; 18 Apr 2013 at 12:11.
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  8. davidinblack
    Posts : 7
    Windows 7 Ultimate x32 and 64
    Thread Starter
       New #6

    chev65 said:
    My way would be using Windows built in sharing and no third party software is involved.

    I would need to know the requirements of this sharing scenario, how many Users require special access etc.

    We need at least two Windows 7 or 8 machines to create a Homegroup, this Homegroup will prevent workgroup machines from gaining access to all files and folders unless they are added to the Public folders. You can also share out entire Library's if required but only those Library's which are shared with "Everyone" will be viewable outside of the Homegroup.

    This is very easy to set up but I'd have to know the requirements of this User.
    You sir are brilliant! Worked like a charm! :) Just set up homegroup.

    Thank you so much!
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  10. chev65
    Posts : 8,870
    Windows 7 Ult, Windows 8.1 Pro,
       New #7

    davidinblack said:
    chev65 said:
    My way would be using Windows built in sharing and no third party software is involved.

    I would need to know the requirements of this sharing scenario, how many Users require special access etc.

    We need at least two Windows 7 or 8 machines to create a Homegroup, this Homegroup will prevent workgroup machines from gaining access to all files and folders unless they are added to the Public folders. You can also share out entire Library's if required but only those Library's which are shared with "Everyone" will be viewable outside of the Homegroup.

    This is very easy to set up but I'd have to know the requirements of this User.
    You sir are brilliant! Worked like a charm! :) Just set up homegroup.

    Thank you so much!
    You are quite welcome for the help. :)

    Yes it's so easy to set up a Homegroup and it creates a virtual wall between the Workgroup and Homegroup machines which prevents anyone in the Workgroup from accessing any files on the Homegroup machines unless they are specifically shared out by using the "Everyone" setting in the Homegroup sharing, or by using the Public folders.

    You only need to right click the C:Users>Public folder and only use the Sharing tab to share with Everyone read or write. You really don't want to mess with the NTFS permissions on the Security tab unless it's absolutely required which in most cases it's not.

    And if you need to share an entire Library with Users in the lowly Workgroup you can just right click any Library folder and choose Share with, then Specific People then choose Everyone read/write which instantly will share that Library with everyone in the Workgroup.
    Last edited by chev65; 11 May 2013 at 12:23.
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