Disable Auto Shares on Windows XP/Vista

If you have ever looked at the default shares on a Windows machine, you will notice that every drive is shared (hidden) as the drive letter w/ a trailing $ sign to indicate that it is a hidden share.

To view your shared folders, click on Start, Run and type “fsmgmt.msc” and click on OK

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You might notice a few entries under your local shares folder

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To secure your workstation, you want to turn these off to avoid any unwanted spying or hacking at home or at work. Simply copy the following code into a text file and save it as DisableAutoShares.reg:

============ Begin copying here =============

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters]
"AutoShareWks"=dword:00000000

============= End copying here ==============

When you are done, you should simply double click on the new registry file you have created:

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If prompted w/ a security warning to confirm that you want to open the file, click on Run 

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You should then be prompted one more time, click on Yes

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A confirmation message will appear:

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Simply restart your computer