Hi, are you using a server on your network, which allows for centralized
management or are you using a workgroup enviroment with each computer able to
comunicate but are basically stand alone work stations? In either of these
configurations you can use group policy to manage the employee computers,
group policy has somewhere in the range of 1,400 settings you can use to
tighten security. The only problem is if you use one of the computers an
employee uses your own account would be locked down with the computer as
Group Policy is a System Wide Security Tool. If you have a server you can
manage all computers via the server, and set features on one computer and
different ones on ohters depending on the trustworthiness of the employee's
and their level of expertise. If it is a non-domain enviroment, each
individual computer would have to be set individually by group policy.
But, yes, there are ways to lock down a network drive so others are unable
to use it. If you do not want to use group policy you can disable Simple File
Sharing and go into classic file sharing and permissions, which enables an
administrator to tighten security in ways Simple File Sharing does not allow.
You can obtain a lot of information regarding Group Policy and/or classic
file sharing and permissions and such at the microsoft support website. Here
are two KB articles to get you started, if you do not know this already:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308418 and:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308419
At least you will have a good overview of how this works.
Also there are a few book out which help too:
Windows XP Inside Out
Windows XP Security Inside Out
Also many more Microsoft Press books which are very helpfull and easy to
read, with CDs included and lots of additional resourses outside.
Good luck and have a nice day.