Need expert opinion.....secure upload and download files

[irfi]

Hi everyone,

I am making a windows form in VS(2005) and through this form i want my users to upload and download files stored in a Directory on a machine running windows 2003.

Could anyone please tell me the best and secure way to share files on a directory for users to Upload and download and "without letting the users to know the actual path"

User Clicks on a Button and it will automatically download the files from server.
User Clicks on another Button and it will automatically upload the files to server.
The file name and paths will be taken from labels which are hidden on my form . so the user doesn't need to specify anything


I have 3 Options and looking forward to some expert opinion on this. My main concern is to never reveal the location to users and smooth upload and downloads.

Is there any better option..i mean from my windows form perspective only and not talking about firewall settings, folder permissions etc...or any 3rd party software to protect data.

Thanx and Cheers
IrFi

[COLOR="#8b0000"]OPTION1: THE "sharedfolder" is SHARED and can appear in My Network Places which i don't want![/COLOR]
Dim Username as string = username
Dim Password as string = password

My.Computer.Network.DownloadFile("\\servername\sharedfolder\" & "Filename.ext", username, password)   ' DOWNLOADING

My.Computer.Network.UploadFile("c:\Filename.ext", "\\servername\sharedfolder\" & "Filename.ext", username, password)  'UPLOADING

[COLOR="#8b0000"]OPTION2: ' THE FOLDER "MyFiles" is not SHARED[/COLOR]
Dim Username as string = username
Dim Password as string = password

My.Computer.Network.DownloadFile("\\servername\c$\MyFiles\",  "c:\" & "Filename.ext", username, password)   ' DOWNLOADING

My.Computer.Network.UploadFile("c:\Filename.ext", "\\servername\c$\MyFiles\" & "Filename.ext", username, password)  'UPLOADING


[COLOR="#8b0000"]OPTION3: (USING WEBDAV) Major difference is can use Webdav folder to access files from any location over the web.[/COLOR]
Dim Username as string = username
Dim Password as string = password

My.Computer.Network.DownloadFile("http://192.168.1.101/directoryname/" & "Filename.ext", username, password) 'DOWNLOADING
 
My.Computer.Network.UploadFile("c:\Filename.ext", "http://192.168.1.101/directoryname/" & "Filename.ext", username, password)  'UPLOADING

 

[jmcilhinney]

You want the users to go to a URL for a script and have that script retrieve the file and return it as the response.

 

[irfi]

Thanx for your reply. But again going to URL and retrieving the files won't slow the process?
Considering the Project running on LAN... How about Option2 is it more safer than Option1 coz i don't need to share the folder.
Example i dedicate a machine and create a folder and then allow user to connect it to upload and download like:
\\servername\d$\foldername"