I have set up 2 computers in different rooms to share a printer connected to one of them. The router is wired to the first computer, the second computer connects via a wireless adapter. The router is setup using the highest level of security available for the device (WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES]). My question is whether or not is is necessary to implement password protection in the home group, or is the router security sufficient to cover me.

That's two different types of security you're referencing. One for the wireless connection to gain access to the router/internet and the other is group security. I'm not sure of your level of networking so I'll just throw this out there for you to consider/review as you didn't identify what the 2nd machine is running. If its all Windows 7 then refer to this http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/help/home-sweet-homegroup-networking-the-easy-way but if not - read onthis might be overkill for you, but it'll be a good review for somebody just in case If you have a home network and are running Windows 7/Vista and have XP on other PC(s) you might want to share files between them. Today we will look at the steps to share files and hardware devices like a printer. Sharing Files In Windows 7/Vista and XP Sharing folders between two Windows 7 machines with the new HomeGroup feature is an easy process, but the HomeGroup feature is not compatible with Vista or XP. For this tutorial we are using Windows 7 x64 RC1 and XP Professional SP3 connected through a basic Linksys home wireless router. First make sure both machines are members of the same Workgroup which by default is named Workgroup. On the Windows 7 machine go into Control Panel \ All Control Panel Items \ Network and Sharing Center then click on Change advanced sharing settings. You will want to verify the following settings under Advanced Sharing Settings for the Home or Work and Public profile. If you want any user to have access the public shares turn off password protection. This is located in Advanced Sharing Settings toward the bottom of the list. If you want to keep it enabled make sure there is a log in account for the other XP machines and they have a password. Now if you go into Network in Windows 7 you should see your XP machine and the Windows 7 as well which in this case is Mysticgeek-PC. To share the printer on the Windows 7 machine go into Devices and Printers from the Start menu and double click on the printer icon. Next double click on "Customize your printer". In the Properties screen click on the Sharing Tab and check the box to share the printer and type in its share name. If your XP machine is an x86 OS you can install Additional Drivers before setting up the XP machine. To find the shared folders and devices double click on the Windows 7 machine icon under Network. Here you can see the printer connected to my Windows 7 machine is shared and also the Users Folder. Continue into the Users folder and Public to see the shared folders, here I also created a folder called XP Share just to keep everything in central location. Over on your XP machine open up My Network Places to find the Windows 7 (mysticgeek-pc) shared folder. Double click on the Share folder to find a list of shared folders in the Public folder on Windows 7. If you have password protection enabled you will need to type in the username and password of the user account on the Windows 7 machine first. Setup XP With Shared Printer To set up the shared printer in XP you will need to go into Printers and Faxes from the Start menu and kick off the Add Printer Wizard. Now select "A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer" then hit Next. Next select "Connect to this printer…" and type in the path for the printer connected to the Windows 7 machine and click next. Now click Yes to the confirmation message. Then click Finish the printer to install and complete the Wizard. In some cases you will need to install the x86 XP drivers for the shared printer because the Windows 7 drivers are not compatible with XP. When everything is installed open up Printers and Faxes to find the shared printer. This should help you get started with sharing your files and other devices with your Windows 7 machine. When I first started I was able to see the printer on XP right away because I had a HomeGroup set up, but once I deleted it I needed to share the printer like you would for a workgroup. You might also have to do a couple restarts of the XP machine for it to see the shared resources on Windows 7. MCSE, MCSA, MCDST [If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.]

To answer your question I am dual booting Windows 7 on both computers, one system has 7 and XP and the other has 7 and Vista. I have successfully established communication with all operating systems, but initially I had trouble because the XP system was denied access. I tried the password generated by the Windows 7 system with various user names and nothing worked. Finally I tried the user name and password associated with the XP system and it worked. The Windows 7 is not password protected, not at the user account level, nor was password protection enabled for the homegroup. I guess my question more clearly stated is can my computer be accessed remotely, say a user in a neighboring home, if I am only using the router security and I leave homegroup/workgroup passwords turned off? Is the broadcasted wireless signal unprotected even though the the router security is set to its highest level?I prefer not to use passwords to make life easy on my family, without having worry about remembering or typing passwords. I did think about maybe using a global password, but I'm not sure if I would still run into difficulties because of the differences between homegroup in Windows 7 and the earlier versions (XP & Vista)The chart below shows the connectivity I presently have functioning w/o passwords:System 1 System 2Win 7 > Win 7Win 7 > VistaXP > Win 7XP > Vista

To answer your question, after using the router security, the machines will not be accessed remotely even though Password Protected is turned off. If someone in a neighboring home would like to access your machine, he must get the Wireless WPA password and then access your private network. Hence, you can keep the Password Protected off in your private network. However, if your machine is taken to a public network, you need turn on Password Protected to avoid being accessed from other machine. Thanks,Novak