How to protect LAN shares with passwords?

[salvor_hardin]

Hello!

We have some 15 machines in network. All machines are XP Pro & 1 machine is Linux ( server - Oracle database)!!! at the beggining it was ok but now lots of users have shares over network. Trouble is that anyone can access these shares which now starts to worry me and I want to change that. I tried and I searched over Internet but found lots of stuff on this subject but I can't get it to work. I did set up everything by the book but either it refuses to connect to share or it connects me without prompting for password or username. I removed "everyone" and added single user. Gave that user permissions for that share. On that same pc I created that user. Added user in group. I even tried by creating that user on other machine from wich I tried to connect but result was not what i wanted. Is that even possible in Windows XP Pro or does that only works in Domain? Before we had a domain and it worked ok but whan Linux server arrived, company that delivered it and installed it in our network said that it is better that they don't install it in Domain. (or thay don't know or they didn't wanted). I know Samba can be incorporated in MS domain. I know I can set that permissions (usrn, pass) on Linux because Samba is quite simple to use and very effective is set up properly. If XP Pro cannot manage share this way can I use any third party tool, I mean is there any? I found none.

[salvor_hardin]

I managed to do it with "guest" account! do I need to have accounts created on pc1 from which I'm accessing pc2 and on pc2? It seems to work that way with guest account...

[cyberdude1006]

i share the same prob with you salvor...my question is howto protect our folder shared from network? is there any tool for it? ive searched over bt then there were some with credit card payment. is there any free software on this...tnx so much....pls help..