Password Protected Sharing - Turn On or Off in Windows 8

How to Turn "Password Protected Sharing" On or Off in Windows 8 and 8.1


information   Information
This tutorial will show you how to turn "password protected sharing" on or off in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows RT 8.1.

When password protected sharing is on, people locally or on the network must sign into a user account with a password on your Windows 8 PC to be able to access shared files and printers and Public folders on your PC.

When password protected sharing is off, people on the network will be able to access shared files and printers and Public folders on your Windows 8 PC without having to sign in to your PC, and local user accounts on your computer will not require having a password.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.

Note   Note
If you have a home (private) network and a PC that’s a member of a domain (for example, if you bring home a work laptop), you can access items that are on your home PCs using your work laptop, but not the other way around. Make sure the user accounts on the home PC have passwords. To access items using your work laptop, you might need to enter the user name as home PC name\user name and then provide the password.

warning   Warning
Password protected sharing will have no affect on computers in a homegroup.


EXAMPLE: "Password Protected Sharing" Turn On
NOTE: This is an example of what a user on your network will see when they try to access a share on your computer from the Network folder. They will be presented with a sign in dialog to sign in to a user account on your computer.
Network.jpgLog-in.jpg




Here's How:

1. Do step 2 or 3 below for how you would like to open the Network and Sharing Center.

2. On the desktop, right click on the Network system icon in the taskbar notification area, click/tap on Open Network and Sharing Center, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)
Network_Icon.jpg

OR

3. Open the Control Panel (icons view), click/tap on the Network and Sharing Center icon, and go to step 4 below.

4. In the left pane of Network and Sharing Center, click/tap on the Change advanced sharing settings link. (see screenshot below)
Step-1.jpg

5. Click/tap on the arrow.jpg button to the right of the All Networks profile to expand it, then do step 6 or 7 below. (see screenshot below)
Step-2.jpg

6. To Turn On "Password Protected Sharing" in Windows 8
A) Click/tap on (dot) Turn on password protected sharing, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshot below step 5)​

7. To Turn Off "Password Protected Sharing" in Windows 8
NOTE: This is the default setting.
A) Click/tap on (dot) Turn off password protected sharing, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshot below step 5)​

8. Click/tap on Save changes. (see screenshot below step 5)

9. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.

10. You can now close the Network and Sharing Center window if you like. (see screenshot below step 4)




That's it,
Shawn


 

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Last edited by a moderator:
Hy @Brink
i always wondered after enabling password protected sharing,. What is the actual password ?
i dont have any password on my computer but i still get promoted with the "enter network password " if i try to access it from another computer on the same network !
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Hello coldlm,

This is normal when you have password protected sharing turned on. Since you don't have a password for you account, it may not let you get past the prompt to enter the password since there isn't one.

The password would be the same as the user account sharing the file. In this case, your account on your computer the file is located on.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hello coldlm,

This is normal when you have password protected sharing turned on. Since you don't have a password for you account, it may not let you get past the prompt to enter the password since there isn't one.

The password would be the same as the user account sharing the file. In this case, your account on your computer the file is located on.

Makes sense:)
is there a tutorial on here on how to set up password protected sharing!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
You're most welcome. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
You're most welcome. :)

Hy i found this tutorial on how to set the password, Because the password for sharing is not the same as the windows account's pass! at least for me :what:


Hope this helps someone
cheers:)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
The password would be for the account the shared file is owned by.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
No worries. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
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