Share Files on a Network Hard Drive

A network or Ethernet hard drive - the technical term is network-attached storage, or NAS - allows an entire household or a small business to access the same drive via a wired or wireless network. The benefit is the ability to back up everyone’s data by backing up a single drive, and it’s also a handy way to share files among family or workgroup members.

Once you go network storage, you'll never go back.

To connect your Mac to a networked hard drive, such as the Buffalo LinkStation Live 250GB ($229), plug it into your wireless base station via the included Ethernet cable. Turn on the drive and launch your Web browser. Type the IP address for the networked drive, which is usually listed in the user manual, or run the installer program to locate it. (For many drives, you’ll use a browser to access the configuration page, although some also include software you install.)

For the LinkStation Live, type 192.168.0.184 and press Return. Log in (admin for username, and password for the password). Click Shared, place a check next to the shared folders, and click Add. Now, to access the drive on a Mac connected to the router, open a Finder window, select Network > My Network > name of drive (the default is the euphoniously named Hs-Dhgl829). Select a shared folder, click OK, and it will appear on your desktop.

Create a shared folder for all your stuff.

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Enable WPA2 Security - Not WEP

You may be tempted to configure your Apple AirPort Extreme or other wireless base station without security, or to use WEP security, which just requires a password. Security experts turn up their noses at WEP because it’s so easy to hack. Use stronger WPA2-Personal encryption instead, which is considered essentially unbreakable. Use the AirPort Setup utility that comes with the base station. Select Base Station > Manual Setup. Click the Wireless tab and WPA/WPA2-Personal from the Wireless Security pop-up menu. Create a password that contains letters, numbers, and a symbol or two.