sharing a windows xp box with FC3

[Floridatrains]

New user with Fedora core 3, Having problems sharing a wiinxp pro box samba is installed I seen it once even had it mapped no changes were made can not do it again I had to trust all traffic on eth0 though other window boxes can see and use this file-print server all the time getting a little frustrated because of my lack of know how trying to learn to convert my house to all linux someday please help!!!!

[kosmosik]

can you please be more specific? as far as I could understand your question:
1. you have FC3 box.
2. want to share something between XP and FC3 machines.
3. your machines are on public network.

so you need to do some authentication before you allow access to servives. as far as I understand you need to run/configure Samba in USER security mode, and tweak your firewall (to allow SMB traffic, probably from one machine only).

[Floridatrains]

Your first 3 statements are true (all on the same network) whats the safest and easiest way ?

[kosmosik]

there is no easy way :)

still you haven't gave any details. you wish to share some services on Linux machine to Windows machine? if so you have two things to do:
1. set up Samba (this is what handles Windows Network on Linux) to run in USER mode - this is default, if you use GUI (system-congfig-samba - ? I don't really know I don't use these tools) you need to export a share (be it directory or printer) protected by password - this is security via obscurity as SMB protocol don't uses encription so anybody in your LAN can sniff this password :)

2. set up firewall on your Linux box (you can't do it with GUI that comes out-of-the-box, you probably can do it with firestarter FIXME) to only allow connections via SMB protocol (you need to know how/on which ports it works) from certain IP - your Windows machine - also this is no security - it is based on obscurity, source IP can be easly tricked. so don't get fooled in false security feeling.

if you wan't things to be really secured (meaning no obscurity) you probably should wrap all comunication (as you are in public network) into some kind of encrypted tunnel... I think you maybe interested in OpenVPN - it allows you to set up secure tunnels between hosts (VPN is like you were having a private LAN between your hosts over public network where you don't need any firewall and authentication) and it is quite easy to set up on Windows...

[Floridatrains]

Sorry, I have a file-print server xp pro box that evryone on the network uses to store files and my usb laser printer that they use also I need to do the same thing with my new Fedora core 3 box to go to and from that shared drive on the xp box and also print to.

[kosmosik]

that makes a difference :)
for file shares - you need to mount them in your system... (like mount.cifs)
for printer you need to set it up. AFAIR you can do it with system-config-printer GUI - printer URL is something like smb://Guest@WORKGROUP/SERVER/PRINTERNAME/ ...

[Floridatrains]

I turned off trusted eth0 so do I need to open up certain ports and can I use a gui?