Network shares problem + have I been hacked???

[maslett]

I have 3 laptops wifi'd to a router:

Laptop1 - XP Pro
Laptop2 - XP Pro
Laptop3 - Win2000Pro

Each laptop has network shares which work as follows:

Laptop1 can see all shares on Laptop2 and Laptop3 (good)
Laptop2 can see shares on Laptop3 but not on Laptop1 (bad)
Laptop3 can see all shares on Laptop2 and Laptop3 (good)

When using Laptop2 - when I click on the icon for Laptop1 I get the error message
"\\Laptop1 is not accessible. You might not have permissions to use this network resource.. blah blah. Access is denied"

Laptop3 has the same username and password as Laptop1 so I created the same user on Laptop2 - this didn't help.

This leads to the next question - have I been hacked... While I was looking at the Local Security Policies on laptop1 (to try to solve the problem) I noticed the following:

'Access this computer from the network', 'Log on as a service', 'Log on as a batch job' and 'Deny logon locally' all had an entry that looked like a registry key!

When I looked at the security settings on one of my shares (it was on an external usb drive attached to laptop1) there was, again, a registry key as a user
which had full permissions on that share (I never allow full permissions on a share!).

I run ZA Pro, AVG, Adaware, Spyware Blaster, Spyware Guard, and Microsoft Anti Spywhatever - all kept upto date. I also gave laptop1 a full check over the weekend and all was fine.

So,in a nutshell.
1.Why can't laptop2 access shares on laptop1?
2.Is it likely I've been hacked?

I'm now taking laptop1 offline till I know more!

Thanks for reading.

 

[mattjurado]

So on laptop2, are you using the same name and password that you are using on 1 and 3? If not try that, or create the user/password combo that you ARE using on number 2, on the number 1 laptop.

Lets start with the simple stuff before we get into whatever that registry stuff was you were mentioning.

Also, when did this start, or are you setting up for the first time?

Matt J.

Please always take the time to backup any and all data before performing any actions suggested for ANY problem, regardless of how minor a change it might seem. Also test the backup to make sure it is intact.

 

[bcastner]

For laptop #2:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3180300030716/index.htm

Do your numbers that look like registry keys look like these?

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prnc_sid_cids.asp

These are SIDs, and are normal.

 

[maslett]

Thanks for both replying. First things first...

Matt: I created the same user/pass on laptop2 but it made no difference. This is the first time I've set this up.

Bcastner: (Thanks again for your help earlier). The first link (for laptop2) doesn't doesn't work - get a 'web page not available message'.

Those numbers - Ah! Yes they do look like that. Maybe I shouldn't have deleted them so quickly - LOL. Luckily I wrote them down so I'll stick them back in.

Guess I can put laptop#1 back online.

Any other ideas?

Thanks both again.

 

[bcastner]

My error. Try:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318030

 

[maslett]

Matt - I tried to add the same user/pass to laptop2 again and it worked this time. Thing is, laptop2 is not mine and the owner won't want to log in as another user just to access the shares. Shame!

Bcastner - I just got to go out for dinner - will try it when I get back.

Cheers all.

 

[mattjurado]

You shouldn't have to. Sounded like a user name / password issue. You might try deleting the user from laptop1 and recreating it.

Matt J.

Please always take the time to backup any and all data before performing any actions suggested for ANY problem, regardless of how minor a change it might seem. Also test the backup to make sure it is intact.

 

[maslett]

update...

Bcastner - thanks for updating the link. Both of the items mentioned in the article are already done. The problem seems to be the actual user account. I created a temp account with the same user/pass as laptop1 and that worked.

Matt - I really can't start deleting users as these are a customers laptops and I can't risk losing any info or messing up any other settings. I also can't keep the temp user I created on laptop2 as "do you mind loggind in as this user instead" won't go down very well! lol

When I first connected laptop3 to laptop1 I got a pop-up box asking for a username/password - any ideas why this never happened on laptop2???????

Bizarely my ipaq connected to laptop1 over wifi no prob??? Does this signify a problem with laptop2?

 

[mattjurado]

You shouldn't be working on these laptops if you can't provide a complete solution. They are only going to be pissed at you in the end. If it works with one user and not another, there are a few possibilities.

1. The user you want to work properly does not have sufficient rights.
2. The user might need to be deleted and recreated on the remote pc (laptop1).
3. The user profile of the user you want to use on laptop2 needs to be recreated.

This is not difficult work, but if you aren't willing to do what is needed to fix the problem, you really should think about letting someone else finish the work. Deleting a user account does not mean you will lose data, files or settings. Deleting a PROFILE will. That's why we learn to backup their desktop icons, favorites, email data files, email address books, documents, and so on, from their profiles, so that we can create a new one if need be. In fact you don't even need to delete the profile, if you rename it, the OS will create a new one for you, then you can copy over what you need using Windows Explorer.

Matt J.

Please always take the time to backup any and all data before performing any actions suggested for ANY problem, regardless of how minor a change it might seem. Also test the backup to make sure it is intact.

 

[bcastner]

From what I can glean from the description of this little LAN, it seems that using the Simple File Sharing model rather than full blown NT type security would be advised.

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/filesharing.htm