Networking

Networking And Sharing Center

Pre-RC1, this was known as the Network Center. The interface then was overly-cluttered and too wordy. Microsoft worked on it and the final result is pretty good. It is easy enough for even beginners to start configuring their networks.

There's a section for Sharing and Discovery, which allows the user to turn on and off Network Discovery, File Sharing, Public Folder Sharing, Printer Sharing, Password Protected Sharing and Media Sharing.

Users who do not have a printer will not be required to turn on the Printer Sharing option. This helps to reduce the risk of exploits from external sources.

Network Information

You can easily get access to network information just by hovering your mouse over the network icon. If you are on a wireless network, the network strength bar will appear. On a wired network, only the name of the network will appear.

Click on the icon to connect or disconnect a network connection

When you click on the icon, you get two options. You can either Connect or disconnect... a network connection or access the Network and Sharing Center.