Previous versions Windows 7 and Windows 8 have an option to choose how to set up a network, whether public or private. In Windows 7 just open the network and sharing center and then click on the line under the name of the connected network to change from public to private or home.
The home connection can be set as private to enable sharing of resources on the network, so that you can share files from one PC to another.
For public wifi networks or the network of an office full of unknown people, instead, you set up the public network, so as to prohibit access to shared files by other computers.
This is a really important setting for every PC, because an error could allow strangers to enter our PC and see the shared files on the internet.
In practice, these are two network profiles to which you can switch automatically based on how your PC connects to the internet.
Already in another article you can read the guide of how to share files and printers on the network between Windows computers.
In Windows 10, however, the way to configure the profile of a network changes, and it becomes easier to set it public or private .
The only requirement is that the user is also an administrator of the PC, otherwise it would not be possible to make changes to the network profiles.
To make file sharing active on a network that will be configured as private, you need to open the Settings menu in Windows 10 by clicking on the Start menu.
From the Windows 10 settings, open the Network and internet section, choose the category of the connection, whether wifi or ethernet and then click on the name of the connected network.
On the options page you will find the option of the network profile which can be public or private, which makes the PC discoverable on the network.
This procedure applies to Windows 10 version 1709 after the Fall Creators Update
If instead you are connected to a cable network, press on Ethernet in the left side of the screen and then click on the name of the network.
In both cases, a screen opens with the network parameters and with an option to decide whether to make this PC discoverable .
By activating this option, the network is configured as private while by deactivating it you configure the network as public and protect shared folders on the network from access by other computers.
If you want to verify that the network profile has been modified or set correctly, open the Network and Sharing Center by right-clicking on the network icon near the clock on the Windows 10 desktop.
Under the name of the network it is read whether a network is public or private.
Returning to the Network and Internet settings of Windows 10, both for the wifi network and for the Ethernet network, you can click the link Change advanced sharing options
At that point the classic configuration screen for sharing files and printers opens and you can configure the two profiles, the public and the private one (even if the default options are fine unless specific needs).
In case of problems, see how to resolve the error that blocks the network profile on Publish.
