This tutorial will show you how to use Samba to share a directory on your Linux machine across your network, accessible by Windows, Linux, and Mac machines. The process takes less than five minutes, and by the end you should immediately see the file server through browsing your Windows network. This is not the most secure way to share files via Linux (but you can configure Samba for greater security), and is suitable for a home network without unwanted guests.

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In the terminal:

sudo apt-get install samba
sudo cp /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf_default
sudo gedit /etc/samba/smb.conf

Info entered in smb.conf:

Under Global Settings:
workgroup = YOURWORKGROUPNAMEHERE
netbios name = yourservername

Under Share Definitions, entering a new entry:

# My share here
[Myshare]
comment = Myshare
path = /myshare
read only = no
guest ok = yes

Under Authentication:

Delete the # to un-comment the security line, and make this change:
security = share

Back in the terminal:

sudo mkdir /myshare
sudo chmod 0777 /myshare

Then restart samba:
sudo /etc/init.d/samba restart

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