Sometimes, you can be away from home and can’t bring your computer
along. So how do you access your files from another location? Setting up
a FTP server would be a very good solution.
Specifically, FTP
is a commonly used protocol for exchanging files over any network that
supports the TCP/IP protocol (such as the Internet or an intranet).
There are two computers involved in an FTP transfer: a server
and a client. The FTP server, running FTP server software, listens on
the network for connection requests from other computers. The client
computer, running FTP client software, initiates a connection to the
server. Once connected, the client can do a number of file manipulation
operations such as uploading files to the server, download files from
the server, rename or delete files on the server and so on.
This article will only show you how to setup and configure a FTP server on your computer.
There are many FTP server softwares out there but in this article, I’m going to use FileZilla server.
1) Download FileZilla server here: http://filezilla.sourceforge.net
2) Run the file and click “I Agree”
3) Use the default Standard component installation and click Next.
4) The default installation location is OK. Change it if you want and click Next.
5) Make sure “Install as service, started with Windows (default)” is selected and port 14147. Click Next.
6) At startup settings, if you’re the only person using the computer, then click Install button. If sharing and has multiple user accounts, select the second one that says “Start if user logs on, apply only to current user“.
7. Click OK when you’re prompted to “Connect to server” and FileZilla server interface will appear.
8. Click Edit on the menu bar, and select Users.
9. Click the Add button on Users and type the name of the user account.
10. Check Password and enter a password for the user that you’ve created.
11. Go to Shared Folders, and click Add button on Shared folders. Select the folder that you’d want the user to access.
12. Check Read, Write, Delete, Append for Files. Also check Create, Delete, List, + Subdirs for Directories and click OK.
13. Now go to My Computer, type the Address as ftp://127.0.0.1 and hit Enter.
14. Enter the username and password that you created just now and you’re logged in to the shared folder.
You
now have a fully functional FTP server on your computer. You can add
more users and also shared folders as you wish. Wait a minute, you’re
not 100% done yet because you won’t be able to access from outside of
your network. To be able to access from other location, you need to
setup Dynamic DNS and also your router/firewall.
1. Dynamic DNS.
- We need dynamic DNS because most of us don’t have static IP address. Whenever we reconnect our Internet connection, we get a new IP address. You can use No-IP
to map your IP address such as 68.57.46.35 to hostname like
“raymond.no-ip.org”. Remembering raymond.no-ip.org is much easier than
68.57.46.35. Instead of typing ftp://127.0.0.1 on My Computer or any FTP
client software, you can now enter your hostname, for example, “ftp://myftpserver.no-ip.org“
2. Router and Firewall.
- You need to forward TCP Port 21 on your router to your computer. Refer to PortForward.com
on how to forward ports. As for firewall, you need to unblock TCP port
21. If you’re using Windows Firewall, you can add port 21 to be excluded
from being blocked. Go to Control Panel -> Windows Firewall. Click
on Exceptions tab and Add Port button. Enter the name as FTP and port
number as 21. Make sure TCP is selected.
Here’s
an important FTP security tip. When creating FTP user account and
password, use NEW username/password and avoid using same
username/password as your Windows user account login. This is because
FTP passwords and file contents are sent in clear text, which can be
intercepted by eavesdroppers/packet sniffers.
Another Tip: Instead of using My Computer to access FTP, there are also free FTP clients to connect to FTP server such as FileZilla Client and FreshFTP.
Thanks to:
http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2007/10/19/how-to-setup-ftp-server-on-windows/