This is the oldest version of this protocol, dating back to 1983. Despite this, for compatibility reasons, it is one of the most widely used versions of the protocol, since newer clients can connect to this protocol, but clients Older ones don’t work with newer protocols. In 1998, Microsoft changed the name of SMB to Common Internet File System (CIFS) and introduced new features to it.
One of the main reasons why this version of the protocol is still used despite its age, is to avoid compatibility problems. And it is that we must take into account that later versions are compatible with this first one, although at the same time it presents some serious drawbacks.
With everything and with it, it is not recommended to use, or even have activated, this version of the protocol. The NSA’s EternalBlue exploit was capable of compromising any PC via SMB1, and is a widely used exploit by hackers and ransomware such as WannaCry. And it is more than likely that many of you have already heard about the dangers of these vulnerabilities, so the first version of the protocol is not recommended at all.
This has been the version of SMB that has run on all operating systems up to Windows XP. On some OSes it even needed a compatibility layer on top of it to work. The latest versions of Windows 10, and Windows 11, automatically disable this version. For security.
SMB 2.0
Windows Server 2008 was the one that began to use this new standard in a massive way, although it was already included for users with Windows Vista. SMB 2.0 was a more secure version, much simpler, and of course much faster with less latency. Some features are introduced, such as symbolic links, improvements in encryption and checksums and many other benefits.
Linux is compatible with this protocol since its version 3.7. And Apple, for its part, also began to set aside its own network file transfer protocol (Apple Filing Protocol) in favor of this SMB 2.0.
With the arrival of Windows 7, Microsoft released a new version of this protocol, 2.1, with performance improvements. Of course, maintaining compatibility
SMB 3
This version was released with Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 and introduced important changes in functionality, as well as serving to fix bugs in SMB 2. Some of its features are:
- SMB Multichannel.
- SMB Transparent Failover.
- SMB Direct protocol.
Version 3.0.2 of this protocol reached users with Windows 8.1. And subsequent versions of this protocol, up to the current 3.1.1, were released with other versions of Windows (up to Windows 11) and focused on improving encryption and integrity. Once we know all this data and the differences between the versions of the network protocol, we are going to see which one we have installed and are using on our Windows computer. This is something that can become especially important in certain cases where we want to maintain the security of the whole.
What is the CIFS protocol
Now that we are more clear about what the SMB protocol is, let’s really see what CIFS is. It must be said that IBM created SMB and Microsoft began to use it. 15 years later the software giant renamed the first version Server Message Block to CIFS. At the same time it is important to know that, in addition to the aforementioned name change, it also added some new features.
Among these we can highlight that it added support for using symbolic links or hard links, as well as a larger file size. It corresponds to the initials of Common Internet File System and is part of the SMB protocol. Therefore, we can affirm that it will also allow us to remotely connect multiple platforms such as Windows, Linux or macOS. In addition, CIFS works universally, which means that it can be used by multiple platforms and operating systems.
In short, this is a protocol very similar to SMB today that we are dealing with along these same lines, but with various particularities implemented by Microsoft itself. With everything and with it, in these times, the use of the CIFS protocol has fallen a lot and it is rare to find it active today.
Check the version of SMB activated in Windows
There are several ways to check the version of SMB that we have enabled in our operating system. One of the fastest and easiest is to do it from PowerShell, since with a simple command we can know if each version is enabled or not.
The following command will allow us to know if we have activated the SMB1 or CIFS protocol in windows; We must look at the “State” section:
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature –Online –FeatureName SMB1Protocol
The following allows us to check if we have SMB2 and SMB3 activated in Windows:
Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Select EnableSMB2Protocol
There is no specific command for SMB3. The SMB2 command shows us the status of version 2x in Windows 8 and 3.x in Windows 10/11.
Activate or deactivate this protocol
All versions of this protocol can be activated or deactivated according to our needs from a simple command that we can execute from PowerShell.
Disable SMB1
If we have one of the latest versions of Windows on our computer, this protocol will already be disabled by default. However, if we have it enabled, we can easily disable it with the following PowerShell command:
Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName smb1protocol
It is not recommended to activate this protocol unless there is no other alternative. Just by activating it we will be endangering our computer and all the other equipment connected to the local network. But in case you have to, the command is:
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName smb1protocol
It is recommended to restart the computer after each command (both to activate and to deactivate) to ensure that SMB1 works correctly.
Enable or disable SMB2 / SMB3
By default, this version will be enabled in all versions of Windows, so we won’t have to do anything to use it. However, if we have problems connecting to other devices through the local network, or we have disabled it in the past, to enable it we will simply execute the following command:
Set-SmbServerConfiguration -EnableSMB2Protocol $true
It is not recommended to disable these versions of the protocol, since many Windows features depend on it. These are safe and do not involve any risk to users. It is only recommended to temporarily disable it if we have problems.
But if we have to disable it for some reason, the command that we must execute will be:4
Set-SmbServerConfiguration -EnableSMB2Protocol $false
Although it is not mandatory, it is recommended to restart the computer after each of these commands so that when you start again, the protocol is enabled.
Share files with SMB
Once we have activated the protocol in our Windows, the equipment will already be available when we use the Microsoft network functions. It is possible that, when opening it for the first time, we will see a message asking us if we want to convert our network into a private network or allow our computer to be visible on public networks. We must always choose the first option, for safety.
Once this is done, SMB will be ready to go. Automatically, the protocol will search for all the computers that are using this protocol in the local network, and each one of them will appear.
To connect to any computer through this protocol, we simply have to double click on it. It will ask us, yes, the username and password of a user (who has permission to use this protocol) to connect remotely to it.
Once authenticated, we will be able to see all the folders that the computer to which we have connected has shared. And, depending on the permissions, we will be able to see all the files, or copy new files to the computer from ours.
In the event that we want to share a file with the other computers connected to the network, what we will have to do, after enabling the protocol, is to share the folder. To do this, we right click on the folder in question, and open the properties window. Within it, we select the “Share” tab, and click on the share button. The folder will automatically appear in SMB and SAMBA so that users can access it.
If we want, we can take the opportunity to configure advanced sharing and establish, for example, permissions of who can or cannot access this remote folder.
Potential compatibility issues with SMB
If we are trying to connect two or more relatively new computers (from Windows 7 onwards) within the local network, we will not have any problem, since the connection should be made through SMB2 or SMB3. Even if we try to connect a Windows 10/11 computer with a Windows 7 computer, there should be no problem either. As long as Windows 7 uses something newer than SMB1.
If we try to connect to older computers (such as Windows XP) from a Windows 10/11 computer, then we will have problems, since SMB1 (used on XP) does not work on Windows 10 and later. And since it is not recommended to activate it, it is better to leave it as is. In case of being in this situation, users are recommended to look for other alternatives (for example, an FTP server) to share files.
When connecting Windows computers with Linux, Windows uses SMB, but Linux connects via Samba. If we use a relatively modern version of Samba there should be no problem. But if our version is old, it may try to use SMB1, and therefore, in addition to endangering the PC, we will not be able to connect to the latest versions of Windows.
Finally, another fairly common problem is found when connecting from Android smartphones to Windows computers. Especially with the latest version of Windows 10 or Windows 11. This is because most of the apps for SMB use SMB1. In that case we recommend you either look for other applications compatible with SMB2 or SMB3, or look for other ways to pass the data.
If we have more problems, we can consult the guide advanced troubleshooting of SMB provided by Microsoft in the .
Goodbye to SMB 1 in Windows 11
Although until now it was possible (but not recommended) to use this protocol for compatibility reasons, starting with the Windows 11 2022 update, this protocol is disabled and blocked to avoid possible security breaches. Of course, only to users who install the Home edition of the operating system.
Therefore, if we have already installed this update, and we find ourselves having problems connecting, for example, to an old computer to share files, it is due to this reason. As for the solution, there is not much to do. Sooner or later, the protocol will disappear from all editions of Windows, so…
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