how to setup sharing over lan

ayushjsh · 26 May 2010

i have2 systems at my home connected with an adsl router which provides internet to both. One has Xp and the other has 7. Since the router has dhcp enabled , my IP on thelan are 192.168.1.2 and 192.168.1.3
I am able to share folders between the two systems, the only worry i have is that does sharing this way can cause data to be shared over the internet too ???
if so how can i configure sharing so that both the systems get the net and share data but shares not visible on the net !!!

Bill2 · 26 May 2010

I think you're talking about securing your home network from intrusions and leaks. This is a huge topic. But read this beautiful article from the Cert coordination center. It gives you an overview of the security risks associated with home networks and what you can do about it. The article is conveniently divided into sub-heads for easy navigation.

Home Network Security

Barman58 · 26 May 2010

ayushjsh,

As Bill rightly says this is a huge and at times contentious issue, If your router has NAT, (network address translation), and a built in firewall, (most do), then you are fairly safe without additional software.

Some additional software would be a good backup and dependent on your experience level there are many software firewalls available.

A resident Anti-malware application would also help prevent any malicious websites from compromising your security.

I will not recommend any particular software, as this is often a personal choice, but there are many threads here that list the alternatives, both commercial and free - check out the system security section

ayushjsh · 26 May 2010

thansk for the info guys !! it was helpfull ,
@nigel , ill definitely read the network security section

ayushjsh · 26 May 2010

@Barman58 : My router has NAt and firewall too , do i need to configure some settings to make my network secure ???

Barman58 · 26 May 2010

Most default set-ups are well designed :) - If you wish to improve things you will need to research both your actual router, it's actual current, and the full subject of firewalls - this can be a serious task.

One test you can try is the shields-up tests here ....

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

read the information on the site and you should be able to assess your own system, any specific concern s you have can be researched and corrected - there are a lot of very knowledgeable members here who will be able to assist you in fine tuning

ayushjsh · 26 May 2010

thanks ... time to pull up my socks and get to some serious net hacking !!!