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How
to Create and Access Hidden Shares
In Windows XP Pro, you can set permissions on shared folders
to control who else on your network can access them, and what level of
access they have. XP Home uses something called Simple File Sharing. By
default, when a folder is shared, everybody can access it. That might
not be a good thing. Let's say you have a home network and you want your
spouse to be able to read the files in your SpecialDocs folder on his/her
computer, but you don't want the kids to be able to. One way to accomplish
this is to share the folder as a hidden share. That prevents it from showing
up when the kids browse My Network Places, so they won't know it's there.
Here's how to make a share hidden:
Right click the folder you want to share as a hidden folder.
Click Sharing and Security.
On the Sharing tab, under Network Sharing and Security, check the box
that says "Share this folder on the network."
In the Share Name field, type a name for the share and append a dollar
sign ($) to the end of the name (for example, SpecialDocs$). This name
should have no more than 12 characters, including the $.
Click OK.
Now, to access the folder, your spouse will need to connect to it via
the UNC (universal naming convention) path. In the Run box, type \\<computer
name>\<share name>. In other words, if your computer is called
BigBoy, your spouse would type \\bigboy\specialdocs$ in the Run box. If
your spouse will be accessing it often, it can be mapped as a network
drive. To do that:
Click Start | My Computer.
Click Tools and select Map Network Drive.
In the dialog box's Drive field, use the down arrow to choose a drive
letter that is not already in use (for example, s:).
In the Folder field, type the UNC path to the folder (in this case, \\bigboy\specialdocs$).
Check the box that says "Reconnect at logon."
Now your spouse will be able to access the folder on your computer in
Windows Explorer by clicking the S: drive.
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