What exactly is the concept that macOS calls "Windows sharing/Windows File Sharing"?

The file sharing dialog has confused me in every version of macOS I've used so far (Mojave, Ventura, Sonoma...) and I would like to understand the situation better. In advanced sharing settings (System Settings > General > Sharing > File sharing (i) > Options...) there is a concept called "Windows File Sharing" or "Windows sharing" that, for some reason, appears to be treated separately from simply "SMB sharing". #### Question By "Windows sharing", is macOS referring to something **distinct from SMB sharing?** I can't but conclude that it is, but **what then, more concretely, is this referring to?** I would've thought that the two terms "Windows sharing" and "SMB sharing" were generally used synonymously -- especially in an Apple context. I guess that in other words I'm asking: In macOS, does SMB sharing *without activating Windows sharing* imply "SMB sharing *with other Macs only*"? I find it difficult to tell, and so I can't adjust my expectations accordingly. ### Background I have many SMB clients that I currently have no idea what to expect from. For example: - Debian 13 - Ubuntu 24.10 (same client as Debian most likely) - Windows 10 - App-integrated SMB client libraries (like Kodi 21, and some iOS apps) None of them appears to be able to access macOS SMB shares without "Windows sharing". Should any of them work? I can't tell. Compound this with that I can access macOS SMB shares from other macOS systems, and it's clear that the shares do work -- just not for any OS but macOS (and, sometimes, iOS). ##### Forget about it Why not just enable "Windows sharing" and forget about it? Because... - I still wouldn't understand the situation, which I want to do. It suggests a gap in my knowledge that I would like to fill. - It gives me the impression that my non-macOS SMB clients are configured to be needlessly insecure. This suggests that they might not be configured properly, period. I'd like to find out if this is the case. - If storing passwords "less securely" is not a noteworthy detail, then surely Apple wouldn't have bothered to clutter their UI with the note. Therefore I can assume it's worth finding out more. *My knowledge level is: "Not an SMB expert" -- I have at most enabled some vfs modules in Linux Samba configurations (e.g. to allow TimeMachine to use shares as targets, and allow iOS to copy files to a share). I'm not familiar with its deeper intricacies.*