Windows 10: How to share a folder without giving my microsoft account password?

I have my microsoft account signed into my windows. If I share a folder the user trying to access gets a prompt to enter username and password and if I give my username microsoft email and password then that user can access the shared folder but now that user knows my microsoft account password.


How can I avoid that? Is there a way to create a fake/dummy/temp user and password without file tree and without appearing at login screen to give to the user and avoid exposing my credentials?

:)

 

How to share any folder without password in Windows 8/10 in a home network if a Microsoft account is involved?

My question is: How to set up file sharing correctly, in a home network, with Windows 8/10, so sharing any folder with "Everyone" (File Explorer->Right click on folder->Properties->Sharing->AdvancedSharing->Share this folder) actually shares the folder with everyone, without password, even with Microsoft accounts?

Before you answer, please read on, because the trivial solution does not work if Microsoft accounts are involved.

I have a home network, with Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 machines, all in the same Workgroup. No Homegroup. I want to be able to share individual folders on the network, by setting them to shared through File Explorer. In Windows 7 and Vista, I just go to Network and Sharing Center, enable file and printer sharing, disable password protected sharing, and it all works. In Windows 10 and Windows 8, the same still works, but only if both machines use local accounts. As soon as one of the machines - either the one accessing the files or the one sharing them - uses a Microsoft account, it is no longer possible to access any files or folders on the other machines. Specifically, if the machine with the Microsoft account tries to access the machine with the local account, it will prompt for a username and password, and access will fail unless username and password of an actual user on the target machine are provided. Changing the Microsoft account to a local account immediately fixes the problem, with no other configuration changes.

This problem is real, and I've reproduced it on several machines, had friends encounter the same problem, and I've found several reports of other users with the same issue, but no solution. The problem seems to be the same in Windows 8 and in Windows 10.

Successfully implemented workarounds (not solutions):

1. Store the usernames/passwords to the other machines in the Credential Manager and give up the idea of sharing without password. Best use a common account for access*.
   
2. Don't use Microsoft accounts.
   

 

Sharing a folder

Hi,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

I appreciate your time and patience to work on this issue.

To know the username of your computer, please follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Type Command prompt in the search bar.
   
2. Right click on the Command prompt icon and select Run as Administrator.
   
3. Type whoami in Command Prompt window and press Enter.
   
4. You will find the username of the computer, use the username and your password to access the file from the shared folder.
   

However, if the above steps didn’t help, I suggest you to turn off password protected sharing and check if that helps.

To turn off password protected sharing, please follow the steps mentioned below on your laptop:

1. Press and hold Windows + R key on the keyboard.
   
2. Type Control and click on
   OK.
   
3. Click on Network and Sharing Center.
   
4. Click on Change advance sharing settings.
   
5. Under All Networks, click on
   Turn off password protected sharing.
   

Hope it helps.

Please reply to this post for further assistance, we will be glad to help you.

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

Share a folder over a home network without password prompting

There used to be a need for an extra step in some conditions** but I thought that need had disappeared [I still do the extra step routinely so I have not tested its need for several years].

** when using different Windows versions on a network that is connected by an ethernet cable directly between the two computers without any router

You used to have to
1 Set password protected sharing On
2 Create a local Admin account with the same name on every computer and set the same password for each of those accounts.
3 Enter the Admin's password when first challenged [when first trying to access a shared folder across the network].
[4 There was no further call for this password - it was a first-use-only thing.]

Perhaps this is still a useful step? Hopefully, a network buff will chip in soon.

In the meantime, you might check if you have included all the steps in Share Files and Folders Over a Network - TenForumsTutorials and that your Workgroup name is the same on all network computers.

Best of luck,
Denis