NetworkOpenedFiles

Windows offers users the option to share their files and folders with other users connected to the same network and configure the access permissions in the process.

Monitoring these shared resources can be done with Windows’ built-in tools, although less tech-oriented users might not even be aware of these particular features of their OS. Nevertheless, there are third-party applications that are specifically cut out to do so without too much effort on the user’s part. One of them is suggestively called NetworkOpenedFiles.

No installation is required, so you can launch it with just a double click. NetworkOpenedFiles features a user-friendly layout that presents all the data in a very organized manner. Its purpose is to show you who is connected to the shared network resources and what exactly are they accessing.

Aside from the name of the opened file, NetworkOpenedFiles displays the names of the remote user and computer, information regarding user permissions (read, write, create), file locking data, alongside the file ID, the date it was first detected as shared, the file owner, timestamp, and attributes. The list of columns can be customized exactly the way you want to.

Information presented by NetworkOpenedFiles can be copied to the clipboard or exported to a text file. Alternatively, you can also generate a complete HTML report to include all or parts of the data.

You can disconnect a connected user by closing the selected opened file. This way, you control the access to your shared resource on the spot. However, note that if you don’t change its ‘shared’ status, the file or the folder will continue to be available for access on the network.

NetworkOpenedFiles is nothing more than a more simple alternative to the ‘Computer Management’ feature in Windows (and the shared files management commands you can execute via the command prompt) and, just like it happens with this built-in system function, you are allowed to see who has a shared file opened, cut off the connection if needed and generate reports.

However, further improvements would really add to its value. For instance, it would be great to have the app notify the user when a new connection is detected, create new shared files or exclude a file or a folder from sharing, not just stopping the current connection.