[Samba] Windows: Forcing a Guest Login.

Matthew Fowle rektide at gmail.com
Tue Feb 13 19:34:56 GMT 2007


This issue comes up time and time again on the mailing list and
internet.  I have yet to see a single answer.  How do you get windows
to access a share with as a guest?

The situation is pretty simple:
- A samba share exists for which there are guest logins available

However this share is inaccessible to windows users because:
- Windows by default tries to login to a share with its current
username/password
- Windows fails
- Windows opens a login/password box for user
- There is no way to force windows to connect as a guest

There are two hacks for this issue:
1. demote to share level security, which windows consumes differently.
2. "map to guest" option to default failed logins to guest.

These hacks have issues:
#1 massively reduces the functionality of samba.
#2 is viable, however i've found users' often end up logged in as
guest when they intended to login as a user.  this is a severely
suboptimal hack.

the nub of the issue is that /Windows/ needs some way of being able to
connect as guest.  to the best of my knowledge though, the
fuckassedbitchcunts at microsoft have not provided any measures for
this absolutely basic procedure: logging in as a guest.  someone
please dear lord tell me i am wrong?


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