The meaning of the existence of computer networks lies in the opportunities they provide to conduct joint activities (both computers and people). But, at the same time, the operating system of each computer has protective mechanisms to prevent unauthorized entry from the outside. The trade-off between these opposite vectors of your computer's work is set by you, and if you have already decided to give access to a specific folder from the outside, then let's look at how to do this in Windows.
Instructions
Step 1
Your operating system almost certainly uses the NTFS (New Technology File System) file system. This means that OS security is organized at the level of individual files - in each folder of each disk on your computer, there are special lists designed to control access (ACL - Access Control List). They contain lists of individual users and user groups who are allowed access to the folder as a whole or a specific file in it. This list also lists the actions that these users (or groups) are allowed to perform with files and folders. The operating system has facilities for both detailed and simplified ACL management. Depending on whether the "Use simple file sharing" option is activated in your OS settings, the sequence of steps to enable shared access to a folder also depends. You can find out through the "Folder Options" dialog in the Control Panel. To open the panel, you need to in the main menu (on the "Start" button), in the "Settings" section, select the appropriate item - "Control Panel". In the panel, launch Folder Options and go to the View tab.
Step 2
To open (or vice versa - close) network access to the desired folder, right-click it and select "Sharing and Security" from the menu. If at the previous step it turned out that the "simple sharing" option is enabled, then the "Access" tab in the opened folder properties window will look like this:
Step 3
Check the box next to Share this folder to allow network access. You can immediately specify the name under which this folder will be visible to the rest of its users, as well as check the box allowing external users to edit the files in the folder. For the changes to take effect - click "OK".
Step 4
And if the “simple sharing” setting in the folder settings is disabled, then the “Access” tab in the folder properties window will look different:
Step 5
In this option, you can also specify the folder name for network users and set a limit on the number of simultaneous connections to it. To allow network users to edit files in this folder, click the "Permissions" button here, and then put a checkmark in front of the "Change" item. It remains to click the "OK" button for the changes to take effect.
