File Sharing Amongst Dorm Rooms

I'm trying to set up a file sharing network between me and a few other guys on my floor in our residence hall...we're all hooked into wall jacks via ethernet...and thats about all i know...


...anyone have any idea how to accomplish this?

 

http://dcplusplus.sourceforge.net/

Keep it to legal school related files only

 

Use hamachi to create a VPN then you can set up a network drive to share files across the network. Moreover, if you guys are on the same floor, you should be on the same network; though, this may not me true.

 

I'm guessing it's school related...as in sharing notes.

 

Just enable the sharing function of your network, and change to "share" the folders you want to share.

 

Probably not such a good idea on a school network (where almost certainly, everyone else in the dorm is on the same subnetwork) unless you're running an OS or networking utility that allows you to implement permissions and access restrictions on the folders that permit only the intended people to get access to the shared folders.

 

Avoid file sharing on school networks. In fact, if you use Vista, have it hide itself on the network by turning off network discovery. File sharing on the school network using a personal computer is a huge risk because your computer could then be visible to the entire campus depending on how the network is set up.

Alternate methods are as follows:
1. Set up an old computer only for the purpose of file sharing. You can set it up as a Network Access Storage and only give login info to your friends. This way, your friends can dump their files on there for the rest of the gang to access as well. This will only expose one computer on the school network.

2. Use online storage. There are a lot of free sites giving around 20 GB free storage. You can then send your friends an email with access info.

3. Set up an Adhoc network on your computer, but this is wireless and is sometimes more trouble than it's worth.

 

Get an old machine to put files on, connect it to your school's network, setup an FTP server on your machine, and only allow your friends access. Just be careful not to attract any attention with all of the "homework and school documents" you'll be sharing.

 

Anyone have a step-by-step guide for all this technical mumbo-jumbo?

I know my fair share about computers...but i'm dumb as a bag of hair when it comes to networking.

 

Here's an easy to follow (I think) guide over at lifehacker: http://lifehacker.com/software/home-server/how-to-set-up-a-home-ftp-server-130806.php

If you do happen to do this, it's not all the difficult. I would personally use Bulletproof FTP though, but that's me. This would most likely be good enough for your needs.