smb
Tech Tip: Using File Sharing Services
One of the most useful functions of OS X is it’s powerful built-in file sharing services. You can easily set up custom shared folders for Windows file sharing, OS X file sharing, and the tried and true FTP file sharing. Virtually any platform is supported in some way. Simply turning on file sharing will allow anyone to connect to your machine and put things in your Drop Box without risking the integrity of your machine. Follow these steps:
1. Open System Preferences by clicking on your ‘Apple’ menu and selecting ‘System Preferences’.
2. Click on the ‘Sharing’ preference pane. Make sure the lock on the bottom left hand corner of the window is unlocked.
3. Click on the check box next to ‘File Sharing’. This will do two things – enable OS X filesharing (AFP) and share your public folder located in your home folder. Note: Anyone will be able to connect to your machine and have read access to this folder. They will not be able to delete anything from this folder and will only be able to copy items into the Drop Box folder. Nobody is able to READ the contents of your Drop Box folder except for you.
4. Now that you have enabled sharing for OS X users, you can easily enable Windows Sharing (SMB) or FTP sharing by clicking on the ‘Options’ button. You may also choose other folders to share by clicking on the ‘+’ button to the left of the options button. I would recommend leaving the default shared folders to minimize security risks.
5. Test your setup! Go to another OS X machine on your network. Open a new Finder window (click on File -> New Windows) and notice that your computer name shows up in the side bar under the ‘Shared’ heading.
6. Congratulations. Now when you are trying to figure out how to transfer that pesky Word document to another machine, you have a quick, easy solution.