With Windows, sharing folders and files between computers that are on the same network has become easier and easier. To share folders or printers with Windows just press the right button on the icon relating to the object to which you want to give shared access to other computers and go to the " sharing " tab. Another sleeve, on the other hand, is that relating to permits and authorizations . which, in general, are configured in the security tab of each shared folder.
The permissions issue is not very simple to use, not even for expert users because, even in Windows 10, even if facilitated, it still remains not too intuitive and often tends to leave everything free, to anyone, to avoid misunderstandings.
To manage shared folders on a home or office computer network, many use an external program that is easier to use and faster to use.
READ ALSO: How to Share files between PC and see shared folders (Windows, Mac, Linux)
The permissions issue is important not so much to prevent a family member or colleague from entering a particular folder rather than others but, above all, to avoid leaving free sharing to anyone (Everyone), including possible outsiders who can, even from the outside, take advantage of this lack of security.
To manage user permissions on shared folders you can then use Free Windows Admin Tools, a small utility that facilitates those users who are reluctant to share files on their computer.
To get started, you go to specify the domain or workgroup that is common for all the computers on the network, then you can add the various computers (on the various computers, the RPC Server service must be active). Later, under Network Share, you can indicate the path of the folder you want to share so you automatically fill in the Name field with which the same appears in sharing, that is, on other computers. You can also add a description.
In Authorizations you must fill in some mandatory fields including: User name (with domain or computer name) and permissions (read and write).
Alias is optional and should be entered only if necessary.
The computer name can be seen from the system properties while the real user name is found by right-clicking on computer resources and then going to " Management " in the " Users and groups " section.
Also from this window, in the sharing section, you can see all the shared folders on the computer and how many users are connected to them. if so, you can remove a share from here by clicking the right mouse button and doing " end ".
Remember that to see shared folders from other computers, they must be either in the same domain or in the same workgroup. The workgroup is set in the system properties. In case you don't see anything, to access the shared resources you can go to start, run, \\ ip_address or just write \\ ip_address on the address bar above a folder.
With Windows Admin Tools you can also manage already shared folders because, when you select one of these, the sharing fields with user name and write or read-only permissions are immediately populated. Once the desired folders are shared, there are two buttons in the main interface, one for changing permissions or users and the other for removing sharing (Unshare).
To learn more, read the article on sharing files and printers on the network.
In another article, how to manage folder and file permissions for pc accounts .
