The Network and Sharing Centre in Windows 7, viii and 10 is one of the more than important and useful Control Panel apps that lets you lot see information about your network and lets y'all make changes that tin bear upon how you admission resource on the network.

Unfortunately, about people never mess effectually with network settings considering they don't sympathise what everything means and are afraid to mess something up. Even so, once you empathize the settings, you lot tin can set up problems on your own, increase your privacy, and quickly setup file and printer sharing between multiple computers.

In this article, I'll walk you through the different aspects of the Network and Sharing Center and show you certain features you tin can utilize on a regular basis to make yourself more productive.

Opening Network & Sharing Center

The commencement step is to open the Network and Sharing Center. The quickest mode to get to it is by clicking on Start and typing in network and. This volition instantly bring up the app in the list.

open network sharing center

In all versions of Windows, the app is located in the Control Panel. In Windows 7, just click on Start and the Command Panel is listed on the right side of the Beginning Carte. In Windows eight.1 and Windows 10, just right-click on the Start Menu and cull Control Panel from the listing.

right click control panel

In the Control Console, you can click on the Network and Internet category and and so click on Network and Sharing Middle. If you are in icon view, only click directly on Network and Sharing Center.

control panel network

Private or Public Network

The starting time thing you'll come across when y'all open up the Network and Sharing Center is your current connectedness to the network and to the Internet. Windows 7 has a little flake more information and also a couple of more options.

windows 7 network settings

In Windows 8 and Windows 10, they cleaned up the interface by getting rid of a couple of items and combining other items.

windows 10 network settings

At the top, you'll run into the active network or networks, the network type, the blazon of access, HomeGroup info and the connectedness info. The first affair to understand about this info is the network type, which is listed directly below the proper name of the network.

In the higher up examples, one has Home network listed and the other has Private network listed. This is very of import because when y'all are connected to a private or dwelling network, there are a lot of sharing settings that are set past default to be trusting. This means others can notice your computer on the network, possibly access shared folders, stream media from your computer, etc.

Windows will normally try to figure this out for you automatically so that when you connect to a public WiFi network, it will utilize thePublic profile and not the private one. Sometimes, Windows will ask y'all if you want to enable sharing or find devices one time you connect to a network and if you lot say yes, it will brand the network private. If you choose no, it volition make the network public.

You tin can also manually alter the network type to Public or Private depending on what kind of privacy yous desire. This can be useful, for instance, if you are visiting someone and you want to make sure no ane tin access whatsoever data on your computer while you are connected to their network. Change the network type to Public and no one will be able to notice your computer on the network.

You lot can read my mail service on how to switch between public and private for the currently continued network. And so what exactly does switching do? Well, you can see all of the dissimilar sharing settings when y'all click on the Alter avant-garde sharing settings link, which I explicate in detail in the side by side department below.

To the correct of the network name and network type, you'll see HomeGroup and Connections. Side by side to HomeGroup, y'all'll see a link that says Available to join or Ready to create depending on whether a HomeGroup already exists on the network or non. A HomeGroup allows yous to easily share files, printers and more between computers. I talk more nigh information technology in the Advanced Sharing Settings section beneath.

Next to Connections, you can click on the name of the WiFi or Ethernet network to bring upwardly the status info dialog for the electric current connectedness. Here you tin can meet how long yous have been connected, the signal quality for WiFi networks, the network speed, etc. You can also disable the connection and diagnose the connection if there is a problem.

network status

For WiFi networks, this screen is useful considering yous can click on Wireless Properties and and so click on the Security tab and view the WiFi password. This is really useful if you take forgotten the WiFi password, but still have a calculator that is connected to the network.

network password

Lastly, if y'all click on Details, y'all tin can get more info well-nigh the current network like the Default Gateway (router IP accost), MAC accost, and computer IP address.

network details

Advanced Sharing Settings

The avant-garde sharing settings dialog is main identify for managing how your estimator communicates with the rest of the network. In Windows 7, you take two profiles: Home or Work and Public. Only ane profile can be agile at a time. All the settings are the aforementioned and repeated nether each contour.

windows 7 networks

In Windows 8 and x, yous accept three profiles: Private, Guest or Public and All Networks. Basically, information technology's the same settings as in Windows 7, but just divide more logically. Let's go through the various settings:

private network settings

Network Discovery – This setting is turned on for private networks by default and it means that your computer can exist seen by other computers and vice versa. What this means in practice is that when yous open Windows Explorer, you lot might see the proper noun of another figurer continued to your network under Network Locations.

network discovery

File and Printer Sharing – This setting will allow others to access shared folders and printers on your calculator. I always turn this to Off even on private networks unless I need to use it in a specific situation. There are so many times when guests come over to my house, connect to the network and then could possibly browse my organisation. Merely shared folders can be viewed, simply you'd exist surprised how folders can become shared without your noesis.

HomeGroup connections – If you really exercise need to share files and folders, you should merely setup a HomeGroup, which is more than secure and a lot easier to configure. If you do run into trouble, only read my HomeGroup troubleshooting guide.

Now expand out All Networks if yous are using Windows viii or Windows 10. In that location are a couple of more than settings here.

network sharing settings

Public Binder Sharing – I recommend turning this off unless y'all specifically need to share data with another computer. The reason is that it'southward very easy to accidentally save files into these publicly shared folders without realizing information technology, which volition then be attainable by anyone on the network. A very useful feature when you demand it, but a large privacy chance otherwise.

Media Streaming – This is another option you should go along disabled until you need to utilise information technology. This basically turns your calculator into a DLNA server so that yous tin can stream music, movies and pictures to other devices on the network similar an Xbox Ane, etc. When enabled, it opens up quite a few ports in your firewall likewise.

File Sharing Connections – This should ever be set to Use 128-bit encryption unless you need to share files with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows 2000 computers.

Password Protected Sharing – I highly recommend turning on password protected sharing because it will forcefulness users to enter a username and password for an account on your reckoner in order to access any data.

Setup New Network & Troubleshoot Problems

The side by side part I want to talk virtually is the department under Change your networking settings. In Windows x, yous can either setup a new connection or troubleshoot bug.

setup new connection

For setting up a new connectedness, y'all only have four options in Windows 8/10: Connect to the Cyberspace, Setup a new network, manually connect to a WiFi network or connection to a VPN. Notation that creating an ad-hoc network is no longer possible in Windows x.

If yous click on Troubleshoot problems, y'all'll become a list of troubleshooting links for the Cyberspace, network adapter, HomeGroup, Shared Folder, Printers, etc.

troubleshoot network problems

These are not merely troubleshooting guides, they are actual programs that run and set issues with various networking related services. I have found the Internet Connections and Network Adapter troubleshooting fixes to be the about useful.

Modify Adapter Settings

Lastly, let's talk virtually the Change adapter settings link on the left-mitt side. You probably won't use this too oft, simply it does come up in handy when troubleshooting network problems.

network adapters

Here you volition meet a list of all the network adapters on your calculator. If yous have an Ethernet port and WiFi menu, you'll come across both items listed. You might also run across other network adapters, but they are usually always virtual, meaning they are created by a software awarding like a VPN client or virtual machine program.

If yous're having connection problems, you can only right-click on the adapter and choose Diagnose. This will commonly ready whatever problem with a misconfigured network adapter. If you right-click and choose Properties, you can configure your computer to use a static IP accost rather than obtaining 1 from a DHCP server.

network properties

As mentioned, this is not something you lot'll demand to practice oft, merely information technology's good to know for troubleshooting purposes. For the technically savvy, there are a lot of other avant-garde settings you tin change here, just this guide is meant for newbies.

Hopefully, this article will help you navigate the Network & Sharing Center settings without feeling overwhelmed. It's the easiest way to fix network bug and to make your estimator more than secure by disabling a lot of the automatic sharing enabled by default. If you have whatever questions, post a comment. Enjoy!