Networking
Networking Overview
Networks

Windows 7 is network aware. Network location awareness allows you to configure the security settings for each location type differently. The configuration settings for each location type are saved.
You can view and manage all of the network locations your computer has connected to.

Home/Work network: Used for network connections that lead to home or office networks. A network can be a home or work network even if it provides Internet access, as long as a router or firewall is placed between the network and the Internet, and as long as you trust all the computers plugged in to the network.
Public network: Used for network connections that lead to a public network. A public network could be a direct Internet connection (for example, a connection that plugged in directly to a DSL or cable modem), or a network in a public place such as a hotel or cafe, where you do not trust the other computers.
Domain network: Used in corporate environments when your computer is part of a domain network. You should see your computer's name displayed as part of a Windows domain name (for example, my computer named myvpc-hb would be called myvpc-hb.mycompany.com on a domain network) and the domain name.

Network Discovery provides you with an easy way to control how your computer views other computers on the network and advertises its presence on the network.

Setting	Default Setting Home/Work	Public	Description
Network Discovery	On	Off	When off, other computers will not appear on the network map and your computer will not appear on other computers' maps.
File and Printer Sharing	On	Off	When off, your computer will not share its files and/or printers with other computers. You can still use files and printers shared by other computers.
Public Folder Sharing	On		When off, the Public user folder will not be shared. When On, it is shared and anyone can store or change files in it.

CIS 170F: Windows 7 Administration