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FTP is used for transfer of large files. Bloggers and webmasters use FTP frequently for uploading files to their server space all the time. FTP transfers usually involve some software installed on the computer. The method usually involves connecting to a particular host server URl, and entering the username and password for access. FTP transfers may be primitive (they do not have much security), but they are still widely used.
Imagine yourselves in this situation : you are at a friend’s house or a browsing cafe, and need to access your server immediately (perhaps for uploading WP-Cache during a spike, for example). Do you wait until the download of FTP software is complete? That is a complete waste of time.
There is an easier way to access FTP servers – without any third-party software. All that you require is the humble Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer (either of them can be used). To access any FTP server, enter the following (replace server with the domain/subdomain):
ftp://ftp.server.com
Once you enter this, a dialog box will come up, and you can fill out the user name and password and click Log On.
If you’re still not convinved of using this method, try out FileZilla, a free, open-source software (review of FileZilla)
Tell us whether you liked this method, or use an FTP client (and why).
Thanks sumesh for your valuable suggestion. i will definitely keep in mind. I will see how it goes and then decide.
thanks again,fazee…
if you dont want the pop up box, you can also use ftp://username:password@ftp.server.com <<– dont forget about IE history though cause your username and password will be in the clear.
dude, your web pages are taking like 40+ seconds to load. Did you change hosts? My traceroute don’t show any stalls between me and your server.
@Ed Wiget: That has security reasons too – you’re transmitting the details without security. And of course, IE history.
@ed wiget: I too notice the slow down. I didn’t change hosts – but I was thinking of doing so. I guess this quickens it
The problem is that it is very slow. Filezilla is faster. Much faster.
@Niyaz: It is not as slow as it seems. Explorer hangs for a couple of seconds, whereas in FileZilla, you would wait for the status updates on the top pane. It is just that Explorer method seems to be slower.
Hmm.. may be.
Yeah that’s a simple way to access ftp servers. We use it all the time in our university to access our varsity’s server. Another primitive way is to use ftp from command line ,
Oddly enough, the problem I am having is not one you would expect. I have used the same method you so AND even made shortcut icon using the name:password pass-thru. My problem is the opposite. I need to PREVENT windows explorer from saving the name:password and I need it to be something in the command line switches.
My problem is I WANT anyone accessing the ftp to HAVE to enter name & password every time they do it. AND I cannot ask the users to make a blanket policy for Windows explorer to NOT remember.
Any ideas?
For an even EASIER way for accessing FTP servers, install a copy of NetDrive on your computer. NetDrive allows you to map a drive on a Windows, Novell, or Linux server via FTP, SFTP, WebDAV or iFolder so that it shows up as a regular drive in explorer and behaves very much as a local drive would in the Windows file system. You can map multiple servers to multiple drives and assign each one the drive letter of your choosing.
I use it so I can always have seamless access to my files on my home computer when I’m roamin’ with my laptop.
Netdrive is abandonware, and is available for free all over the place. Here’s a couple of download links:
http://www.acs.uwosh.edu/novell/netdrive.htm
http://www.divshare.com/download/2012951-371
And here’s the NetDrive user documentation:
http://tinyurl.com/3lsbb
(One tip: make sure you have a blank index.html file in your ‘NetDrive’, so meanies don’t have easy access to your files.)
@mike:
In order to ensure that a user is presented with a dialog requesting credentials every time they connect to your FTP server, you would have to mandate the use of a client configured to not “remember” or otherwise store the credentials used to log on. In Windows NT, the configuration option for Explorer/IE may be present in Group Policy or manually set in the registry.
But since you said you can not require a policy to be blanketed across the network, I don’t know what kind of solution you will be able to find. I guess it depends on your network’s topology, and so I would recommend that you look at the practicality of having your client machines configured via a domain controller, or other similar system, when they logon to the network. It’s a lot easier to control and delegate policies, features, applications and et cetera.
The only other solution that I can surmise is one where the server is configured to have a username/password expire after first use, so that way you can require your clients to request a new set of credentials to be provisioned every time that they need to log in to the FTP. You could automate this process with scripts to be made available on the intranet.