Windows 7 Networking: Using HomeGroups

Each new version of Windows made sharing resources on a home network a bit easier than the one that preceded it. Vista, for example, makes it relatively simple to share files stored in the Public Folder across a network. On the other hand, sharing standard folders — or those inside an individual user's account folder — in Vista still requires the rather cumbersome task of configuring specific folder and account permissions.

Windows 7's HomeGroup feature makes home networking a lot easier by letting you set up a simple password-protected network with other Windows 7 systems through which you can easily share printers and folders located anywhere on your system — including those that belong to individual accounts. Even better, you only need to enter the network password once, when you join the Windows 7 system to the HomeGroup.

Creating a HomeGroup in Windows 7

Whenever you connect a Windows 7 system to a new network, you're asked to specify whether the network location is Home, Work, or Public. If you choose Home — you can't use HomeGroups on Work or Public networks — Windows 7 will automatically start a wizard allowing to you create a new HomeGroup. The HomeGroup wizard will allow to share the contents of the four pre-configured Windows 7 libraries — Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos, as well as any printers attached to the system. (The Documents library — which is most likely to contain sensitive info — is the only item that isn't automatically selected by default.)

• Windows 7
• Windows Vista
• Microsoft Windows

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