Ok, Just a quick question.
Now I may be wrong about this, but if you share folders on your computer and you are hooked straight to the internet with out a router or firewall of any sort I believe that those files are open to any one on the internet who has your IP.
Now the question. Is there a way to do this through a router? I know it's not a good idea to leave your files open to the public, but if I was to set up a computer with files I would want to access anywhere, can I do it with out any special software?
I assume that you're talking about the "Shared Docs" folder in XP or some folder you've set up to be shared like that...
If this is the case then these files will probably only be accessible on a local intranet, like an ethernet or something like that. Though, yes it would be possible for anyone on the internet to see (I believe).
The easiest way to share whatever is on your computer without installing anything is to use RDC. (Which comes with XP)
You don't have to make anything on your computer "sharable", you just have to setup your computer to accept remote desktop connections with a certain password that you can specify. You can even set this up behind a router. This way, nothing on your computer is shared, you can just login remotely and you can transfer any files you want.
Win XP RDC is also a pretty solid peice of software, you won't really need to worry about security. If you need more info on setting it up behind a router, just google it, and if you're stumped ask here for specifics.
Hope that helps. ;D
You need to open some ports on your firewall.
SMB = UDP & TCP 135-139
NetBIOS = UDP & TCP 445
That should be all thats required, tho im not sure why you would want to do something like that as 135-139 is also used by DCOM which could open your machine up to a world of potential hurt and worms on the net.
Note: Many ISP's block SMB and NetBIOS traffic... and you wouldn't want to just leave that open. Setting up IPC$ connections are trivial, which = A BAAAAD IDEA!
VPN is a way better option...