How to change a network to private or to public on Windows

To make the PC discoverable and share files to other computers or deny this possibility, it is usually necessary to change the type of network to private or public, here below are described the steps to take to complete the operation on Windows systems.

Set up a public or private network on Windows 7 and Windows 8

The versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8 have an option to choose how to set up a network, whether public or private.
In Windows 7 just open the Network and Sharing Center and then click on the line under the name of the connected network to change from public to private or home.
The home connection can be set as private to enable sharing of resources on the network, in order to share files from one PC to another.
For networks public wifi or the network of an office full of unknown people instead you set the public network, in order to prohibit access to shared files by other computers.
This is a really important setting for every PC, because an error could allow strangers to enter our PC and see files shared on the internet.
These are, in practice, two network profiles to which you can automatically switch based on the way your PC is connected on the internet.

Set up a public or private network on Windows 10

In Windows 10 cam instead, the way to configure the profile of a network is easier, and it becomes easier to set it public or private.

The only requirement is that the user is also the administrator of the PC, otherwise it would not be possible to make changes to the profiles network.
To enable file sharing on a network that will be configured as private, you must open, in Windows 10, the Settings menu to click on the Start menu.
From the Windows 10 settings, open the Network and internet section, choose the category of the connection, whether wifi or ethernet and then click on the name of the connected network.
In the options page you will find the option of the network profile which can be public or private, which makes it the PC that can be found on the network. (This procedure applies to Windows 10 version 1709 after the Fall Creators Update)

If you are connected to a wired network, press on Ethernet on the left side of the screen and then click on the network name.
In tut two cases, a screen opens with the network parameters and with an option to decide whether to make this PC discoverable.
By activating this option, the network is configured as private while deactivating it configures the network as public and protect shared folders on the network from access by other computers.

If you want to verify that the network profile has been changed or set correctly, open the Network and Sharing Center by right-clicking the mouse over the network icon near the clock on the Windows 10 desktop.
Under the network name you can read whether a network is public or private.

Returning to the Windows 10 Network and Internet settings, for both the wifi network and the Ethernet network, you can click the link Edit advanced sharing options
At that point, the classic file and printer sharing configuration screen opens and you can configure the two profiles, the one p public and private (although the default options are fine unless you have specific needs).