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How do I securely share / allow access to a drive?

How do I securely share / allow access to a drive?

To simplify backing up a laptop (Windows Vista), I'm planning on sharing its C: drive (with password protection) and using that to back it up from another computer.

Asked by: Guest | Views: 199
Total answers/comments: 2
bert [Entry]

"You will probably find that Areca won't be able to reliably back up that drive, even though it's mapped as a drive, because it won't have access to files that are in use. To get a reliable backup of a running system, you need something that utilizes the Volume Shadow Copy service on the system. Areca Backup doesn't appear to support the Volume Shadow Copy backup.

Sharing the C drive shouldn't be an issue. As others have already pointed out, Windows automatically shares the C drive under the hidden C$ share to administrative users. As long as you have secure passwords on the shares, you should be fine. It's also good practice to make sure you always install the Windows updates promptly after they're released.

If it were me, I would utilize the Windows Vista System Backup software that comes with Vista to create a system image or regular backup to a share on the XP system. Using the backup routines with Vista provides some of the same benefits as Areca:

You can restore various versions of files individually (through the Previous Versions tab in Explorer).
It only stores the changes. For example, the first backup will store a complete copy of everything. Subsequent backups will only store those files that have changed.

I don't like the lack of control I get over which files are backed up, so that may be a good reason to choose something like Areca. For most users, however, the Windows Backup that comes with Vista is adequate."
bert [Entry]

"Sharing the C drive sounds like an issue. There is the possibility that some exploit would be able to do significant damage.

Why not create a folder on the system and then share it? You can then apply NTFS permissions and share permissions that allow backup data to be written but keep the OS safe. Create an account with a password on the Vista host that has the ability to write to the folder and use that to connect from the other systems. Map the shared folder on the required systems and you should be ready to use the backup software"