Saturday 22 March 2014
Just imagine a situation like this. You want to share some files and documents, which are very important, to a network. But you
are afraid of whether the things you share are secure enough. Also you would like to provide access to users but with proper authentication.
Generally the default file sharing settings in OS X are fairly secure; however, there may be some situations where your system can be open for others to access. To enable file sharing on your system, go to the System Preferences and then in the Sharing preferences pane check the box for File Sharing.
Enabling this will help you to have a relatively secure sharing environment. It will also provide you with the best possible resources, that you have access to, available on the network. This includes folder and attached external drives.
These resources will require a password to get access to the network and thereby are relatively secure. But there are some situations in which your system will provide anyone access to the network in order copy certain items to your system. If your system has enabled access to guest accounts then anyone will be able to get access to the network without any use of pass words and then will be able to view the various public folders within user accounts on your system. The public folder is a folder which is visible and can be read by any people who have access to your system. Within this folder there lies a folder which is not visible to everyone, but anyone can copy items to this folder, which is called “Dropbox” folder.
If you are using file sharing, and have connected to public networks, then you can ensure your system is as safe as possible by checking out on few things.
1. The first thing to check out is that you enable file sharing only when needed. So in order to do this you can ensure that you enable file sharing only when you intend to share or copy items between systems. You should make sure that this step is done
especially when you are using public networks. This step is less concerned when you use a home network which is protected by a router firewall. But this step can still be followed in order to ensure that your system is safe as possible.
2. The next important step is to disable all shared public folders. Shared folders can act as conveniences but they are also alternative methods for copying items between accounts. To remove the various public folders that is left unused, you should go to the Sharing System Preferences pane and select File Sharing. In here, you will see a listing of the various shared folders. Select the various "Account's Public Folder" listings, and then remove them from the shared folders list. This will help you to prevent them from being accessed via the network, but can still be accessed through your account.
3. The third step is to disable network access to guest account users. A guest account may serve as a convenient way for quick access to your system, but if you don’t use the guest account much often. Then be sure that you disable network access to guest account. For disabling network access to your guest account open the Users & Groups System Preferences pane and select the Guest User from the list of users. Then either uncheck the guest user to disable it at. Or atleast uncheck the option to allow guests to connect to shared folders.
Technology
Generally the default file sharing settings in OS X are fairly secure; however, there may be some situations where your system can be open for others to access. To enable file sharing on your system, go to the System Preferences and then in the Sharing preferences pane check the box for File Sharing.
Enabling this will help you to have a relatively secure sharing environment. It will also provide you with the best possible resources, that you have access to, available on the network. This includes folder and attached external drives.
These resources will require a password to get access to the network and thereby are relatively secure. But there are some situations in which your system will provide anyone access to the network in order copy certain items to your system. If your system has enabled access to guest accounts then anyone will be able to get access to the network without any use of pass words and then will be able to view the various public folders within user accounts on your system. The public folder is a folder which is visible and can be read by any people who have access to your system. Within this folder there lies a folder which is not visible to everyone, but anyone can copy items to this folder, which is called “Dropbox” folder.
2. The next important step is to disable all shared public folders. Shared folders can act as conveniences but they are also alternative methods for copying items between accounts. To remove the various public folders that is left unused, you should go to the Sharing System Preferences pane and select File Sharing. In here, you will see a listing of the various shared folders. Select the various "Account's Public Folder" listings, and then remove them from the shared folders list. This will help you to prevent them from being accessed via the network, but can still be accessed through your account.
3. The third step is to disable network access to guest account users. A guest account may serve as a convenient way for quick access to your system, but if you don’t use the guest account much often. Then be sure that you disable network access to guest account. For disabling network access to your guest account open the Users & Groups System Preferences pane and select the Guest User from the list of users. Then either uncheck the guest user to disable it at. Or atleast uncheck the option to allow guests to connect to shared folders.
Technology
