Web Folders and Web Printing

If a remote computer has Internet Information Services (IIS) installed, has enabled Web Sharing on any folders, and is accessible over the Internet or a corporate Internet, you can access its shared files through Internet Explorer version 5 or higher. This technology lets you copy files to and from a remote computer with a high degree of security, through firewalls that normally block access to file sharing protocols.

When IIS is installed, the computer's shared printers may also be used through the Internet using the Internet Printing Protocol, or IPP. IPP lets remote computers print to shared printers across the Internet, again through firewalls.

You can use these technologies to great advantage if your office or home computer has dedicated Internet access because you access its shared folders over the Internet without using a modem or VPN connection.

These applications are all described elsewhere in this book; I just wanted to be sure they were mentioned here as they're great resources for the "unplugged" user.

Installing IIS is covered in detail in Chapter 13, "Hosting Web Pages with Internet Information Services." Using Web Folders and Web Printing is covered in Chapter 16, "Creating a Windows XP Pro Network."