Hide Your Computer in Local Area Network

First, go to Start Menu->Run window. type: "cmd". In the command prompt enter the following commands:


Net config server /hidden:yes

This command will hide you from the Network neighborhood but your shared folders can still be access.

Note: in Windows Vista, you need to open the command Prompt as Administrator: Start Menu > type "cmd" > CTRL+Shift+Enter and hit Continue.
or else you’ll get this message:

System error 5 has occurred.
Access is denied.

So how about my IP address? what if they have an ip-scanner, still they can find me?
They can find you by using an ipscanner. The solution for this problem is by using a Firewall. Upgrade to Windows XP Service Pack 2, there is a free inbound protection firewall. For Windows Vista users, there is an inbound and outbound firewall protection by default.
To check if your computer is hidden in the network neighborhood type this in the command prompt

Net config server

Server Name \\MyPc
Server Comment
Software version Windows Vista (TM) Ultimate
Server is active on
NetbiosSmb (MyPC)
NetBT_Tcpip_{4365E532-AF25-4C8E-C31E-5D3BG50F7043} (MyPC)
Server hidden Yes
Maximum Logged On Users 10
Maximum open files per session 16384
Idle session time (min) 15
The command completed successfully.
How to Show your Computer Again inside the Network Neighborhood
Net config server /hidden:no
Enjoy! Sharing is sexy