- Apr 25, 2013
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If Windows 8/Windows 8.1 computer is connected to a home or office network, you might want to keep the File and Printer Sharing enabled in order to make the computer accessible from the other computers in the network. Benefit of keeping the File and Printer Sharing enabled is that you can easily transfer your files/folders from one computer to the other if you have appropriate permissions and you know the correct credentials (username and password).
If you want to disable the File and Printer Sharing on your computer, the reason might be that you are in any public place where you do not want to make your system accessible from the other computers that are within the same subnet (local area network). In such cases, you might also want to keep your computer from getting discovered by any other network devices, and in order to do so you should also turn the Network Discovery off on your computer.
If you only disable the File and Printer Sharing on a Windows 8/Windows 8.1 computer and leave the Network Discovery enabled, your computer might be discoverable by the other network devices, but the devices would not be able to send or receive the data from the computer.
Here is how you can disable the File and Printer Sharing in your Windows 8/Windows 8.1 computer:
Note: ‘Private’ profile is used in this demonstration. In your case, you can choose any profile that you are using on your Windows 8 computer to connect to the network/Internet. Regardless of the profile that you are using, the process of turning off file and printer sharing on Windows 8/Windows 8.1 is always the same.
If you want to disable the File and Printer Sharing on your computer, the reason might be that you are in any public place where you do not want to make your system accessible from the other computers that are within the same subnet (local area network). In such cases, you might also want to keep your computer from getting discovered by any other network devices, and in order to do so you should also turn the Network Discovery off on your computer.
If you only disable the File and Printer Sharing on a Windows 8/Windows 8.1 computer and leave the Network Discovery enabled, your computer might be discoverable by the other network devices, but the devices would not be able to send or receive the data from the computer.
Here is how you can disable the File and Printer Sharing in your Windows 8/Windows 8.1 computer:
- ■Log on to the Windows 8/Windows 8.1 computer with the administrator account.
■On the Start screen, click the Desktop tile.
■Once on the desktop screen, right-click the network icon from the notifications area that is present at the bottom right corner of the window (next to the clock).
■From the context menu that is displayed, click the Open Network and Sharing Center option.
■From the opened Network and Sharing Center window, click the Change advanced sharing settings option from the left pane.
■From the opened Advanced sharing settings window, ensure that the Private (current profile) section is expanded.
■Under the File and printer sharing section, click to select the Turn off file and printer sharing radio button.
■Once done, click Save changes to save the modifications that you have made.
Note: ‘Private’ profile is used in this demonstration. In your case, you can choose any profile that you are using on your Windows 8 computer to connect to the network/Internet. Regardless of the profile that you are using, the process of turning off file and printer sharing on Windows 8/Windows 8.1 is always the same.
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