That said, if you’ve never worked with it before, consider reading about how to use the Registry Editor before you get started. This is a pretty simple hack and as long as you stick to the instructions, you shouldn’t have any problems. Standard warning: Registry Editor is a powerful tool and misusing it can render your system unstable or even inoperable. RELATED: Learning to Use the Registry Editor Like a Pro On Windows 7, you’ll have to edit the Windows registry to disable the SMBv1 protocol. How to Disable SMBv1 on Windows 7 by Editing the Registry You’ll be prompted to restart your PC after making this change. Uncheck it to disable this feature and click “OK”. Scroll through the list and locate the “SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support” option. You can also just open the Start menu, type “Features” into the search box, and click the “Turn Windows features on or off” shortcut. Head to Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows features on or off. In the meantime, SMBv1 is easy to disable on Windows 10 or 8. Sadly, it took a huge ransomware epidemic to push Microsoft to make this change, but better late than never, right? Microsoft will disable SMBv1 by default beginning with Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update. RELATED: What's New in Windows 10's Fall Creators Update, Available Now Even Microsoft recommends disabling this protocol unless you need it. If you’re not using any of these applications-and you probably aren’t-you should disable SMBv1 on your Windows PC to help protect it from any future attacks on the vulnerable SMBv1 protocol. Microsoft maintains a list of applications that still require SMBv1 here. The older SMBv1 protocol is only enabled because there are some older applications that haven’t been updated to use SMBv2 or SMBv3.
You can leave versions 2 and 3 enabled-they’re secure. SMBv1 is an old version of the Server Message Block protocol Windows uses for file sharing on a local network.
What Is SMBv1, and Why Is It Enabled By Default?