# Solved: Local Folders appear as "The Internet"when opening "My Network Places"



## Aaron74 (May 24, 2007)

G'day all,

I am hoping someone may be able to tell me why my local folders appear under "The Internet" on one of our work computers rather than under "Local Network". We have four machines, 3 running XP Home and one running XP Pro. The front machine has XP Home on it and I cannot open any of the shared folders for this machine on any of the other three machines even though they all have the same workgroup name.

They are all connected via CAT5 cable and we have a Netcomm NB5 ADSL2 modem/router, a Netcomm V300 Telephone Adapter(VOIP)/modem and an 8 port switch in the boss's office. And the front computer's folder/s and drives that I have chosen to be shared are listed under "The Internet". Does anyone know why this is and how I would go about correcting it? 

Thankyou for your help and time,

Aaron


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

From other threads I seem to recall that the shares appearing under "The Internet" is some kind of Windows "confusion" that doesn't mean anything. Can you ping that PC by IP address? By Computer Name?


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## Aaron74 (May 24, 2007)

G'day,

Yes I can ping from the machine with the "confused" folders to another machine on the network but I can't ping that computer itself! I am not sure how to ping by computer name though sorry!!


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## GOTzMADsKILLz (Apr 18, 2002)

Maybe run regedit and see if the full path name to this PC's folders is listed somewhere in the registry. To be hoenst I'm having trouble following what you mean by "The Internet" are you referring to an icon at the top of the Start Menu that says The Internet witht a little Globe where Internet Explorer and/or Outlook/Outlook Express icons would be?

So does this PC have internet access?

Also XP Home is terrible for networking it not even close to XP Pro. You should try re-running the Network Setup Wizard on the problem machine and just set the workgroup etc the same as the other PCs, sometimes this un-confuses XP Home when it's misbehaving. Also you should disable the Windows XP Firewall under Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. 

Stop the service and then under properties > Disable it.

This usually fixes most common network problems on a Windows XP P2P network since half the time that stupid firewall blocks everything from printers to shares etc.


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

When you enable file and printer sharing the Windows XP SP2 firewall is properly configured.

The inability to ping by IP address almost always is because a 3rd party firewall (or Internet Security Suite) is blocking. No point in trying anything else until you get this issue solved.


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## Aaron74 (May 24, 2007)

So I need to turn off Windows Firewall to ping? Do I have to use the Network setup again on all machines with the Firewall off or just turn it off and try and ping? As far as I know we only have the software firewall within XP. 

Thankyou 

Aaron


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## Aaron74 (May 24, 2007)

When I open My Network Places off the Start menu, the shared folders on the front computer show up as "The Internet" rather than "Local Network"as they do on every other machine! All four machines can currently access the internet yes!


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## GOTzMADsKILLz (Apr 18, 2002)

'When you enable file and printer sharing the Windows XP SP2 firewall is properly configured."

Rarely have I seen Windows XP Firewall ever work properly. Disable it and you will have fewer problems now and in the future.

Just re-run the Network Setup Wizard on the right hand "Common Tasks" bar under My Network Places and rejoin the problem PC to the same workgroup as everyone else, then disable the Windows Firewall.

Also Terry is right.. What are you running for AV on the PC? Norton AV and McAfee and others (just the AV) still have a Worm Blocker which acts like a firewall and can cause lots of issues, just like the Windows XP Firewall. The Internet Security Suites are horrendous and should be removed like a cancerous lesion.

Although in terms of the "The Internet" problem I'd be interested in seeing if rejoining the PC to the workgroup and resetting it's Networking fixes the issue first.


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

You've probably just been unlucky with the Windows XP SP2 firewall, 'cause I haven't heard of many problems with it. Anyhow, XP's firewall does not block pings unless you specifically tell it to. But disabling it at least for now is an excellent way to remove one variable.

In spite of our little bickering here I think we are agreed that you wanna look real hard for a firewall, or even an unclean uninstall of Zone Alarm, Norton, etc.


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## Aaron74 (May 24, 2007)

Hi, on the front computer we are running CA Internet Security, and on the others AVG 7.5 Free Edition. Do computers not need a Firewall running on a day to day basis? Or are there some that work(cooperate with O/S's and other programs) better than others? If so, could you please recommend some? 

Cheers once again,

Aaron


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

I recommend staying whenever possible behind a router ("natural" firewall), using Windows XP SP2 firewall or Vista's, and avoid anything that would put you at high or moderate risk of spyware or such that may send un-nice messages from your PC. Keep an AV running, and run two or three anti-spyware/anti-adware programs once in a while.


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

Some other threads with shared folders listed as "Internet":

http://forums.techguy.org/networkin...all-my.html?highlight=shared+folders+internet
http://forums.techguy.org/networking/571651-my-network-places.html?highlight=shared+folders+internet
http://forums.techguy.org/networking/516793-sharing-problem.html?highlight=shared+folders+internet


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## Aaron74 (May 24, 2007)

TerryNet said:


> I recommend staying whenever possible behind a router ("natural" firewall), using Windows XP SP2 firewall or Vista's, and avoid anything that would put you at high or moderate risk of spyware or such that may send un-nice messages from your PC. Keep an AV running, and run two or three anti-spyware/anti-adware programs once in a while.


For the most part we use Lavasoft's Adaware and I run it every week! Also, have been told to get Spybot Search and Destroy and use this! Does that sound sensible?


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

Those are the two I use, so guess I have to say it sounds sensible.  Being a fan of free, I also use Microsoft's "Windows Defender" even though it doesn't get good reviews.


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## Aaron74 (May 24, 2007)

Alright, well that sounds like a go then! I have just had a look at those other threads and I will go and disable the firewall while I try and redo the problem machine using the Network Setup Wizard making sure that the workgroup name is the same as the other three machines. THe modem/router we use is a Netcomm NB5 which according to their website has a firewall built-in. 

I will post back and let you know how I get on if that's alright!!

Once again thanks for all the help and assistance!!

Aaron


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## GOTzMADsKILLz (Apr 18, 2002)

Now that I can see from the Shortcut icons that got created I think I understand a lot better what happened. Those icons there are just shortcuts that Windows XP creates automatically if you access a particular folder on your network a number of times or sometimes it gets populated automatically when another XP Machine gets joined to the same workgroup and the setup wizard was used and shares out folders etc.

You can just delete all the shortcuts under "The Internet" and then create new ones or run the setup wizard after deleting them to see if that re-populates the list properly, this might have also been done if someone used Internet Explorer to browse the network or go to a particular share name (Example: type \\somepc\sharename in IE instead of a www URL and you will get to the share, same as under My Computer).

And yes Terry... I have seen tons of issues with Windows XP Firewall including not being able to print to a USB Printer, of all things, with the firewall enabled, but then again I set up home and business networks at least once a day for clients for the last 6 years so I've seen it more times than most and am a little jaded when it comes to "software" firewall products, especially free ones. A good Router with SPI and a good AV/anti-spyware program combo is usually all you need and all I'd recommend.


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

Thanks, GOTzMADsKILLz! A lot of good information in that post.


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## GOTzMADsKILLz (Apr 18, 2002)

oh and Windows Defender does absolutely nothing, although it does give nice startup error messages every time they update the program and someone has the last version installed and it's auto updates crap out. lol.

Thanks Terry I can only hope I can one day attain 7700+ posts lol, maybe if you take a vacation. 

Let us know what happens Aaron74.


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## rescueguy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have exactly the same problem. On a LAN, some computers are listed under "The Internet". I still need to find the cause of this problem, and yes it is a problem, something somewhere is not right.

A temporary solution is to uncheck the option "Automatically detect intranet network" under security tab, Local Intranet, sites; in Internet Explorer options panel. Leave the other three settings checked.

I would like to find a solution that allows me to leave the option mentioned above checked as it is the default settings.

I promise to get back to you all if and when I do.

Good luck!


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## Roofnron (Oct 11, 2007)

I have just noticed this on my computer. Any chance you have OneCare installed?


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## rescueguy (Oct 4, 2007)

No, Norton 360 and previously Norton IS 2006 and 2007.


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## robineedshelp (Dec 6, 2007)

I recently had issues with my shared folders showing under the Internet heading instead of the Local Network in my network places also, and came across this thread. I know only a little about computers so i'm basically looking to all the tech guys to see if any of this supposed fix makes sense to them and is legit. 

Apparently it may possibly have something to do with IE7. When I uninstalled IE7 the shared folders were once again under the correct heading of Local Network. Reinstalled and had the same issue as before I started. This was the fix I found, and although it appears to have worked for me, I want to run it by those of you who know what you are doing to see if this is safe to do and makes sense:

Start/Control Panel/Internet Options/Security/Local Intranet/Sites/Advanced

Type in the computer name of a system on your Local Network whose shared folder you are attempting to "move" in this format:
file://ComputerName 
Click Add

Repeat for next computer name if there are others.
After all have been added, click Close, Ok, Ok

I did not check or uncheck anything, only added the computer names. (Edit--->to clarify, when I clicked on &#8220;Sites&#8221; everything was already checkmarked for &#8220;automatically detect intranet network&#8221; and then once I clicked on Advanced the checkbox there was NOT checked. I did not touch any of these.)

When I finished I opened My Network Places and it had worked. I then repeated the procedure on my other computer which had the same problem. Although it appears to have worked, I'm still holding my breath.

Thoughts? Can I exhale?


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

Please exhale! 

Even when those shared folders appear under the Internet heading they are not really shared on the internet. It's just an annoyance. I'm not familiar with that fix you used but it sure looks perfectly safe. And, it worked. So CONGRATS to you.


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## robineedshelp (Dec 6, 2007)

Woo Hoo! It is really misleading to see your shared folders listed under the heading of Internet when they weren't before. To those of us who don't know the ins and outs, the first reaction is that your shared folders are floating around the internet, because they are listed under that heading. It's good to know that whatever heading they are under, they are not actually on the internet. If that ever happens to me again I know I don't have to freak out.

I'm so happy and surprised that the fix for me was a simple, safe one.

Thanks for easing my mind on that!


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## randy_randy (Jan 24, 2008)

Excellent and simple solution. Thanks.

Does your system also exhibit the behaviour when you ping a machine on your LAN by name, it returns the external IP address instead of the local 192.168.x.x address? Mine does and not sure how to get around that.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

*randy_randy*, if you have an issue, please start your own thread and describe exactly your issue.


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