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CIFS - technical definition
(Common Internet File System) The file sharing protocol used in Windows. It evolved out of the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol in DOS, which is why the terms CIFS/SMB and SMB/CIFS are sometimes seen. The word "Internet" in the CIFS name has little relevance. It stems back to the 1996/97 time frame when Microsoft submitted CIFS to the IETF, but that draft has expired. See file sharing protocol, SMB and Samba.
From Mac to Windows
This Macintosh dialog was displayed when trying to connect from the Mac to a Windows machine on the network. The SMB/CIFS nomenclature was later dropped in Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) to hide the jargon.
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