[SOLVED] Why are computers connected to my router showing up when I configure "map network drive"?

[barkersofgeraldine]

I plugged in a usb drive to my router and successfully connected it to my desktop computer through "map network drive"

to my surprise, when i did the same process on my laptop, 2 of the desktops connected to the same internet connection also show up as an option to be connected to

why is that, and what does it mean? can people connected to the same internet connection access my files? ive attached photo:

https://imgur.com/0f2QTKI

View: https://imgur.com/0f2QTKI

 

[Ralston18]

The process of mapping begins with browsing the network looking for shared drives/folders.

You "browsed" and you found both other computers and their respective shared drives/folders.

And yes, if you do not have passwords or other user access controls (Group Policy perhaps) other systems/users can gain access to those folders.

Could be that if you attempt to connect that may fail with some "no access rights" / "insufficient access rights" error message.

 

[USAFRet]

why is that, and what does it mean?

Because you told the system to look for other systems on this same LAN, with the "map network drive" function.
It is detecting that other systems exist.

Whether you can access them is a different story. Depends on the settings in those systems, and if you know the account and passwords if they are set up to require those.