how to run FTP server so that it can be externally accesed by others?

Question

I would like to run an FTP server and distribute my ip to friends. But, when I run the FTP client it is not accesible externally that is using the dynamic ip allocated by my ISP. I get a message Windows cannot access this folder.

Answer 1

I like Filezilla FTP server on the backend. Very light and very good. The client is good for downloading/uploading. Don't try and FTP through an Explorer window, it sucks.

Since you have a dynamic IP there are two choices:
1. Purchase a static IP.
2. Use the free Dynamic DNS service from DynDNS. This allows your friends to access the site using a hostname rather than IP, and DynDNS will keep track of your IP changes. Check it out: http://www.dyndns.com/services/dns/dyndns/

Keep in mind that most ISPs have rules about running any kind of server out of your house unless you have a business internet package. As long as you aren't transferring gigs and gigs and gigs of traffic you will probably be okay, just saying.

You should not turn off your firewall but should create a rule to allow connections through your ftp port, and you should change the port to something other than the default 21. Filezilla has good logging so you will see all of the connections and attempted connections and what people are doing when they log in.

Good luck.

Answer 2

if you're going to do this, there are some things you need to know.
1st security - once the ip is published other people can access your pc not limited to your friends.
2nd you should use a name rather than IP, if you want to use an ip you'll need a fixed ip address then if you have a firewall/router open the ftp port and port forward it to your up address. IF you also have a software firewall, like windows you will need to open that one too.
There are many free ftp software you can get that are much better than windows. Look at www.tucows.com for instance.

Using one a 3rd party ftp software will address security issues by allowing you to setup user names and passwords with access restrictions.