Windows XP/Vista – Turn Off Hidden Shares

Posted on June 9, 2007 by Captain Johnny Bowen | Security

By default, “Administrative Shares” is turned on in Windows XP and Vista. This flaw allows anyone to potentially be able to gain access to any file on your entire PC! To plug this security hole, follow the steps below.

Open Windows Explorer and in the address bar type \\Computer Name\Drive Letter$
ex: \\DesktopBox\C$
Now you should be able view all of the files on that PC.
Go to Start > Run and type regedit
Find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters
Create two new DWORD Values. (Right Click > New > DWORD Value)
The values should be AutoShareServer and AutoShareWks. Set both to zero
Restart Windows for the changes to become effective.