>=?Utf-8?B?S0ItMQ==?= <K**@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
>news:2370084A-EED6-405D-B3DD-14525FD2CD2C@microsoft.com:
>
>> I have to pcs both running WinXP Pro.  I tried to hook them up as
>> a network.  Each computer can see one another but can not access
>> each other.  They want to sign in as a guest and there is no
>> option to change the "guest" to the computer name.  What is
>> happening and can anyone give me some pointers?
>>
>
>On an XP Pro machine that has not been connected to a domain, the
>default networking is set up to use the Guest account.  Also by
>default, the guest account is not enabled.  Probably all you have to do
>is enable the guest account.  For more info, see:
>
>"Description of the Guest account in Windows XP"
><http://support.microsoft.com/kb/300489/en-us"
>
>HTH,
>  John

"Steve Winograd [MVP]" <bcma***@mvps.org> wrote in
news:opvhp29c1vjsq7mtd88qg1i21v9fptijbi@4ax.com:

> Hi, John.  I looked at that KB article, and I don't think that it
> gives a complete or accurate description of how the Guest account
> works in networked access.  In my opinion, XP's "simple file
> sharing", which uses the Guest account, is badly designed, badly
> implemented, and hard to understand, and Microsoft's own
> documentation gets it wrong.
>
> The section on "Using the Guest account on the local computer" is
> about configuring the Guest account in Control Panel > User
> Accounts (where it's disabled by default).  However, that has
> nothing to do with whether other computers can access this
> computer's shared resources over a network.  It only determines
> whether a user can log on as Guest at the local keyboard and what
> privileges such a user has on the local computer.
>
> There's a different setting that determines whether the Guest
> account is allowed to have access to shared resources over a
> network, and that setting is enabled by default.  You can control
> that setting by typing these commands in a command prompt window
> (Start > Run > cmd):
>
>    Enable:
>       net user guest /active:yes
>
>    Disable:
>       net user guest /active:no
>
> After much searching, I found an accurate description of this on
> one Microsoft web page:
>
> http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/906574.mspx
>
> In the section "Frequently Asked Questions", it says:
>
> "How do I disable the Guest account on a Windows XP Home system?
>
> At a command prompt, type Net User Guest /Active:No to disable the
> guest account on workgroup joined systems. Disabling the guest
> account will block Simple File Sharing".
>

>"Steve Winograd [MVP]" <bcma***@mvps.org> wrote in
>news:opvhp29c1vjsq7mtd88qg1i21v9fptijbi@4ax.com:
>
>> Hi, John.  I looked at that KB article, and I don't think that it
>> gives a complete or accurate description of how the Guest account
>> works in networked access.  In my opinion, XP's "simple file
>> sharing", which uses the Guest account, is badly designed, badly
>> implemented, and hard to understand, and Microsoft's own
>> documentation gets it wrong.
>>
>> The section on "Using the Guest account on the local computer" is
>> about configuring the Guest account in Control Panel > User
>> Accounts (where it's disabled by default).  However, that has
>> nothing to do with whether other computers can access this
>> computer's shared resources over a network.  It only determines
>> whether a user can log on as Guest at the local keyboard and what
>> privileges such a user has on the local computer.
>>
>> There's a different setting that determines whether the Guest
>> account is allowed to have access to shared resources over a
>> network, and that setting is enabled by default.  You can control
>> that setting by typing these commands in a command prompt window
>> (Start > Run > cmd):
>>
>>    Enable:
>>       net user guest /active:yes
>>
>>    Disable:
>>       net user guest /active:no
>>
>> After much searching, I found an accurate description of this on
>> one Microsoft web page:
>>
>> http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/906574.mspx
>>
>> In the section "Frequently Asked Questions", it says:
>>
>> "How do I disable the Guest account on a Windows XP Home system?
>>
>> At a command prompt, type Net User Guest /Active:No to disable the
>> guest account on workgroup joined systems. Disabling the guest
>> account will block Simple File Sharing".
>
>Thanks, Steve.
>I too was a bit confused about how Microsoft refers to the Guest
>account.  I appreciate the time/research you took to dig up this
>clairification.  It does make a bit more sense now.
>-- John