Least restrictive Windows file/share permissions?

[Carson Dyle]

I have a home file server running Windows 2008 R2, set up only in a workgroup, no domain. I have three PCs and a number of devices on the network. The PCs are members of the same workgroup as the server.

On the file server I have data drives and network shares. I live alone and nobody else ever accesses the network. None of the data is sensitive (mostly just media files). Everything that is important is backed up regularly to external drives that are disconnected and moved to safe places between backups. My goal has always been to make accessing shared files on the network as simple and easy as possible. I want both read and write access to all of the shared files from all PCs on the network.

What would be the minimum set of file and share permissions that I would use to achieve this? Again, simplicity is key. The file permissions would be set at the root level of the data (not system) drives on the server and be inherited by everything below the root.

 

[Dahak]

The simplest would be give the everyone group full access a the share level.

or create a single user, and give that user full access at the share level, enter the username and password once on the other machines (I do this on W2012 Essentials, have a media user)

 

[Carson Dyle]

The Everyone group only includes authenticated users.

 

[JackMDS]

In the Control Panel Network Center make sure that the password demand for Sharing is Off.

Then enable the Guest account on all computers and allow everyone.

Log to each storage place one at the time and drag them to the favorites in Windows Explorer

Please Note that by doing the above you are totally Unprotected from accessing your folders.

So make sure that Your Router is Not allowing remote connections to you Network.

If you have Wireless Make sure that it is protected By very strong WPA2 key.


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[Carson Dyle]

In the Control Panel Network Center make sure that the password demand for Sharing is Off.

Can I assume you mean on the server, or both clients and server?

BTW, how do you select/change the network profile? I notice that my W2k8 server is currently using the Public profile, while the Win7 machine I'm on now uses the Home/Work profile.

Then enable the Guest account on all computers and allow everyone.

It has to be enabled on the client computers as well? If Guest currently has no explicitly assigned NTFS permissions on the files, will they have to be set?

Log to each storage place one at the time and drag them to the favorites in Windows Explorer

Is a "storage space" a computer with shares or an individual share? Do you mean on the client computers? Will there be a login prompt? If not, why the need for being in favorites?

 

[Dahak]

Can I assume you mean on the server, or both clients and server?

Just the server

BTW, how do you select/change the network profile? I notice that my W2k8 server is currently using the Public profile, while the Win7 machine I'm on now uses the Home/Work profile.

When you are in the Network and Sharing Center, Click on the public network (The word in blue) and you should be able to change it

That is why I make a generic user on the server, this way you do not have to change too much else other than add that user to the share folder permissions with full control.

so when you browse to the share, just put that username/password that you created and click remember password. and you do not have to mess with the guest account, or the network password settings etc

 

[JackMDS]

You have to share each Root Drive C etc. through Advanced Sharing and configure everyone and Guest users to be allowed to have Full Control. It need to be done one time.

In general.

Permission & Security Win 7

Using the Everyone feature saves the need of configuring permission to each of the established users, it does not mean Everyone that feel that they would like to login.

Users that do not have an account on the computer are Not part of the Everyone Group.

If security on the LAN is Not needed and users are Not established, then switching On the Guest account provides semi-open configuration.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Turn-the-guest-account-on-or-off

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Point to the a Folder (or root drive) that meant to to be shared. Right click and choose properties.

In the properties

Click on the Security tab shown in the pic bellow to the right) and check that the users and their permission (shown in the pic bellow center and left) are correctly configured. Then do the same to the Permission tab.

This screen shot is from Win 7, Vista's menus are similar.

http://www.ezlan.net/Win7/Permission-Security.jpg

In both the Security panel, and the Permission panel you have to highlight each

User/Group and examine that the Permission Controls are checked correctly.

When everything is OK, Reboot the Network (Router, and computer).

* Note . The Groups and Users shown in the screen-shoot are just an example. Your list will look the way your system is configured.




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