SMB

Server Message Block or SMB is an application-layer network protocolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server_Message_Block or a presentation layer protocolhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa365233(VS.85).aspx commonly used by Microsoft Windows to share files over the Local Area Network (LAN). SMB is often used with NetBIOS, and Samba. Common Internet File System (CIFS) dialect of SMB and some say it is a newer replacement for SMB. SMB can also be used to share files with non-windows computers, like Macs, UNIX and Linux.

IBM employee Barry Feigenbaum originally designed SMB, then Microsoft added Lan Manger to it with the help of 3Com. It has a 2.0 version that came out in 2006. Common Internet File System (CIFS) is a more feature rich version of SMB. Many ISPs block the SMB protocol from the internet to protect users from hackers.

Accessing a Windows share from a MAC OS X system.http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1568
Follow these steps:

1. Click the Finder icon in the Dock.
2. Choose Connect to Server from the Go menu (CMD+K).
3. In the address field of the Connect to Server dialog, type the URL using this syntax smb://ServerName/ShareName/
   Or you can use one of these more advanced options below.
   smb://WORKGROUP@ServerName/ShareName
   smb://WORKGROUP;User@ServerName/ShareName
   
4. Click Connect.

• SMB: Server Message Block

• LAN: Local Area Network

• CIFS: Common Internet File System