Setting up an anonymous Windows Server 2008 network share

network-sharewindows-server-2008

How do I create a truly anonymous read/write network share in Windows Server 2008?

That is …

  • no login dialog shown
  • no domain credentials required

… so that any Windows machine can get to this share no matter who is logged in, whether the machine is on a domain or not?

Best Answer

I was able to get a rudimentary anonymous share going by setting the share and filesystem permissions to:

  • Everyone (full control)
  • Guests (full control)
  • ANONYMOUS LOGON (full control)

After that, in the Local Security Policy under Local Policies > Security Options I had to modify

Network access: Shares that can be accessed anonymously

by adding my share to it, like so:

sharename

At that point I was able to get to \\servername\sharename anonymously.