Removing Shared Folders

Windows allows you to share data with other people on your network. It doesn’t allow you to share individual files but entire directories. In other words, you aren’t sharing documents, but the containers (folders) in which the documents are stored. When you share folders on your system, people can read data from the folder and sometimes store information there. Allowing others to access data on your system can slow down your system; allowing others to place data on your system can encourage clutter. You can reduce clutter (and perhaps increase system performance) by unsharing the previously shared folder. Just follow these steps:

1. Display the folder window containing the folder you no longer want to share.

You can use My Computer or Windows Explorer to display the folder. The icon for the intended folder should be shown with an outstretched hand holding the folder.

2. Right-click the folder icon and choose Sharing and Security from the context menu.

Windows displays the folder’s Properties dialog box, with the Sharing tab displayed like you see in Figure 19-4. Another way to display this dialog box is by choosing Properties from the context menu and then clicking the Sharing tab.

3. In the Network Sharing and Security area, deselect the Share This Folder on the Network check box.

4. Click OK. The folder is immediately inaccessible to others. If someone is actively

using data in the folder, you may see a dialog box warning you that some-one else is using your data. If you want to cut off the user’s access to your data, then click OK.

Cutting off another user while she has a file open on your system can result in a corrupted data file. If possible, get the other person to exit the application (thereby closing the data file) before cutting off access.