Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ftp

How to secure folder with chmod.

Jackie_Treehorn — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:32:24 -0800

How do you secure a folder via ftp so that no one can see or access it with chmod? I run a discussion board. I would like to backup my database occasionally to a folder on my web server. I want the folder to be secure so that no one can access it. I need the folder to be writable so that I can place the .sql file in there for safe keeping.

I use Filezilla and I know how to change the folder attributes, I just don't understand what it all means.

Thanks for the help!

How to automate backups on my ftp server?

stupidsexyFlanders — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:29:34 -0800

I have some wordpress sites hosted at bluehost that I want to keep backed up. Can you help me automate this? Detailed needs inside. What I've been doing is going to the bluehost control panel every few weeks and manually downloading, first, all the files on the ftp server. Then I'm separately downloading all the dbs. Then I'm throwing them all in a folder on my local machine and have Carbonite back them up remotely. I keep five backup sets, and delete the oldest when I add a new one.

I would like to automate this 100% if possible -- maybe have some kind of script that every week zips up the backups into a one big file on the ftp server, which I can then use SynchBack Pro to mirror to my local HD on a regular basis?

The solution would have to compress all the dbs and a defined portion of the ftp file structure into one file named 120509.* (itself inside a folder called /backups). The following week, same exact thing, except the files are compressed into 121209.*, etc. Each week it should look in /backups for a file named with a date older than 5 weeks and delete it.

Then I would use Synchback every week to pull down the contents of /backups on the ftp server to my local drive, which I will tell Carbonite to pull up remotely.

What do I do to automate the compressing and saving and sequential naming and date-based deleting on the ftp server?

I've never used cron or SSH and only done super basic stuff using phpmysql. I've read through these two askmes and while they did include code snippets that seemed like what I needed, I don't know what to do with them or how to modify them to do what I specifically need. So speak very slowly. Thanks!

Direct FTP please

Jason Land — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:52:20 -0800

How do I setup a FTP-like service without having a website? I'm of limited internet knowledge, but without using things like Rapidshare, I'd like to have an FTP-like function where I can open a program, have someone else also be logged on, and we can directly send large files to each other, without having to own and operate a website with a connected FTP server.

I guess it's technically like the AIM file transfer, but without using AIM, and more stable/secure.

I'm on a Macbook Pro, OSX 10.5.8. I have Cyberduck, if perhaps there is a hidden function there like what I'm asking about.

Can I email a file to my webserver?

stupidsexyFlanders — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:07:46 -0800

I want someone to be able to put files on a webserver. I don't want to give them ftp access. I'd like to tell them: Attach your file to an email and send it to this address. Is there a way they can email an attachment so that it puts the attachment in a specified folder on the server? I know there are services that go the other way, and I know it's possible to interact with an ftp server via http. Neither of these would suffice, I would like to simply ask them to attach the file to an email.

VPN from home NAS system.

CodeMonkey — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:36:19 -0800

I am trying to set up my router so that I can get at my files on my 3 NAS boxes. These NAS boxes are 1) D-Link DNS323, Infrant ReadyNAS NV+, and a Buffalo TeraStation HD-H2.0TGL/R5. The router is connected to the internet via a home service cable modem so it won't have a static IP and one step is to find the IP address before accessing. I have a router (DLink DGL-4100) which says it can make a IPSec VPN or FTP using a Virtual Server (I think). There would be no other PCs on the network since I would be taking my laptop with me when I access the network. The manuals for the routers talk about FTP serving but if I get a VPN set in my router then I should be able to just browse for whatever I want that way...right? The instructions say it can be done, but how? Please give me step by step instructions the best you can for setting up the router, the NAS boxes and my XP laptop (with suggested software, if necessary) since I have looked all over the internet and can't find anything I can understand. Of course the access should be encrypted and password protected. THANKS GUYS. From the router manual. (DGL-4100):
Application Level Gateway (ALG) Configurations
Here you can enable or disable ALG’s. Some protocols and applications require special handling of the IP payload to make them work with network address translation (NAT). Each ALG provides
special handling for a specific protocol or application. A number of ALGs for common applications ar enabled by default.

IPSec VPN:
Allows multiple VPN clients to connect to their corporate network using IPSec. Some VPN clients support traversal of IPSec through NAT. This ALG may interfere with the operation of such VPN clients. If you are having trouble connecting with your corporate network, try turning this ALG off. Please check with the system adminstrator of your corporate network whether your VPN client supports NAT traversal.

FTP:
Allows FTP clients and servers to transfer data across NAT. Refer to the Advanced -> Virtual Server page if you want to host an FTP server.

Virtual Server
The Virtual Server option gives Internet users access to services on your LAN. This feature is useful for hosting online services such as FTP, Web, or Game Servers. For each Virtual Server, you define
a public port on your router for redirection to an internal LAN IP Address and port.
Example: You are hosting a Web Server on a PC that has Private IP Address of 192.168.0.50 and your ISP is blocking Port 80.
1. Name the Virtual Server Rule (ex. Web Server)
2. Enter in the IP Address of the machine on your LAN – 192.168.0.50
3. Enter the Private Port as [80]
4. Enter the Public Port as [8888]
5. Select the Protocol - TCP
6. Ensure the schedule is set to Always
7. Check the Add Rule to add the settings to the Virtual Server List
8. Repeat these steps for each Virtual Server Rule you wish to add. After the list is complete, click Save Settings at the top of the page.
With this Virtual Server Rule all Internet traffic on Port 8888 will be redirected to your internal web server on port 80 at IP Address 192.168.0.50.

From the D-Link NAS DNS-323 manual:
FTP Server
The DNS-323 is equipped with a built in FTP Server, which is easy to confgure. It allows users access to important data whether they are on the local network or at a remote location. The FTP server can be confgured to allow user access to specifc directories, and will allow up to 10 users to access the DNS-323 at a time.

This section contains the configuration settings for the DNS-323 FTP Server.
The current settings and status of the DNS-323 FTP Server are displayed here.

The FTP access for users and groups can be added and edited here.

Category Determines whether the FTP server rule will apply to an individual user or a group.

User / Group Select the group or user the FTP server rule will apply to.

Folder Browse to and select the folder or directory you are granting FTP access to. Select root to grant access to all volumes.

Permission Set the user or group permission to Read Only or Read/Write.

FTP Server Settings
Max User: Sets the maximum amount of users that can connect to the FTP server.
Idle Time: Sets the amount of time a user can remain idle before being disconnected.
Port: Sets the FTP port. Default is 21.
Flow Control: Allows you to limit the amount of bandwidth available for each user.

Most standard FTP clients like Windows FTP, only support Western European codepage when transferring files.
Support has been added for non-standard FTP clients that are capable of supporting these character sets.

Access List: Lists all defned FTP Rules.

If you are behind a router, you will need to forward the FTP port from the router to the DNS-323. Additional flltering and frewall settings may need to be modifed on your router to allow FTP Access to the DNS-323 from the Internet. Once the port has been forwarded on the router, users from the internet will access the FTP server through the WAN IP address of the router.

From the ReadyNAS NV+ manual.

FTP/FTPS
To access the share via FTP in Share security mode, log in as “anonymous” and use your e-mail address for the password.
.
To access the share in User or Domain security mode, use the appropriate user login and password used to access the ReadyNAS. For better security, use an FTPS (FTP-SSL) client to connect to the
ReadyNAS FTP service. With FTPS, both the password and data are encrypted.

From the Terastation manual.
To allow Anonymous FTP, choose Enable for Anonymous FTP Server. Select a folder to share from the Anonymous User Public Shared Folder (only one folder may be shared by anonymous FTP) and
choose whether you want the share to be Writable or Read Only. Click the Apply button to set up anonymous FTP.
If FTP Server is disabled in the Basic window, this page will not be accessible.
Anonymous FTP mode uses port 8021 (e.g. ftp://IP Address:801).

How can I FTP only the recently modified files from within a deep file structure?

dirtdirt — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:54:32 -0800

How can I FTP only the recently modified files from within a deep file structure? I work for an organization with a fairly large website (~20,000 discrete items - .asp, .txt, and .pdf). Recently it was decreed that we would change the way some of our links work (inserting intermediary warning page in new targeted window). I was able to write a find+replace script to switch out the old link for the new one, without messing up anything else. It works a treat, but after running it on my local development version of the site I don't particularly want to FTP the whole thing over to the live site, all 20,000 files, when only maybe 3,000 have been changed. Particularly when some of the .pdf's (none of which are affected by this) are giant - 1,000's of MB. Doing it manually would be nuts as these files are sprinkled throughout a fairly complex and deep file structure.

Is there a way to FTP only the recently changed files, while maintaining the file structure? I normally use Flash FXP, but would be fine with some fancy command line FTP expressions, or any other cheap/free solution.

Low Tech Transfer Options for Huge (.ppt) File Transfer?

green_flash — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:46:09 -0800

What options exist for a painless way for transferring large (.ppt) files? Especially when it's for people whose work environment may make it impossible for them to download software for FTP transfers or use services like YouSendIt? I'm helping my manager coordinate presentations for a conference he's chairing. We have an account with YouSendIt and an in-house (but low thresh hold) FTP site. We have an internal project FTP site using a Dreamhost account, but experience has taught us that not everybody has the network infrastructure (or tech skills) to configure Web Folders for dragging and dropping into that site.

He'll be receiving 40 Powerpoint presentations from people working primarily in government agencies (e.g. pretty strict network restrictions). What would be ideal would be if people could e-mail their presentations to a site like YouSendIt - like how Flickr has the e-mail upload option. However after scouring this site (and finding information on sites like Box.net and Dropsend), I'm not finding anything to suggest that these online storage sites have an upload by e-mail option. Have I exhausted all of our options and we will have to tell people to log on to his YouSendIt account?

Help me move a huge file across the net is as fast a time as possible.

BrodieShadeTree — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:23:16 -0800

I'd like to move a big file (110gig) to a business associate across the internet. The file must arrive in as fast a time frame as possible in order to update a database with as little downtime as possible. FTP is an option, but the other party feels it might chew into their user bandwidth for too long. Are there file moving/bandwidth leasing options available for this sort of one time thing?

FTP for stock photo clients?

klinefelter — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:18:06 -0800

Setting up an FTP account in cpanel for photography clients? I'm a professional photographer who's making the move online (finally) for sales and client services. My host uses cpanel for managing my hosting account, and I need to provide clients with an easy way to access large files. FTP seems to be the standard, but when I use this it requires my stock clients to have an FTP client installed.

Is there an easier way for them to access files without using installed software, just through their web browser?

Windows-Service-workable FTP Client?

Picklegnome — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:33:55 -0800

Free/cheap FTP Client as Windows service? I have a headless home server running Windows, and in order to run a program, I need to be logged in - via Remote Desktop, right now. Not so with services. I can force a program to act as a service, but that means I won't get the benefits of a GUI. I need the server to take care of downloading files without my being logged in. Downloading only; uploading either won't be necessary or can be handled on a case-by-case basis with a different client.

What FTP client can I use that has a web- or command-line-interface, or would otherwise allow me to control it even as a service?

How can we automate an FTP action from a folder on our server?

GilloD — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:19:57 -0800

Question #1767346834 in our exhausting ERP integration process: Is there a way to automate an FTP process so that "Everytime file x lands in folder y, we send file x to ftp://whatever/import"? More inside. So, our unbearably expensive ERP lacks some common features. It has some pretty heinous import/export functionality which has made sending and receiving information a major struggle. But after an endless string of late-nights/all-nighters, we're getting somewhere!

New problem: The system is more than happy to export stuff. But it won't FTP it anywhere. Because we've got about 100+ files exporting a day, it's almost impossible to be doing this manually. The most it will do is reliably export it to the same folder on it's own server every time.

So we need to set up a process where anytime a file lands in that folder, it sends it along to our warehouse, which has it's own FTP.

Thoughts?

The restore did more damage than the crash...

GJSchaller — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 06:30:04 -0800

Looking to automate the backup and download of mySQL tables on a cPanel webhost to an external FTP site. I have an account with a web hosting provider that is running cPanel. I also have a local FTP server in my home (an old G4 Mac running Fedora) that works nicely. I already have a PHP script in place that runs via CRON job, and once a week, it backs up the ENTIRE cPanel account and FTPs it down to my server here, so I have an offsite copy no more than a week old at all times.

Recently, an issue on the server with another user's website spilled over and caused mySQL to crash hard, and corrupted one of my databases. Of course, this happened the night before the backup was due to kick off, so restoring would have rolled us back a week, and the forums on my website would have lost a LOT of important posts that were made in that time. My provider was able to restore the DB from 24 hours before the crash, but in doing so, they also restored all of my other DBs, causing a minor loss of data (again, at a critical time).

Is there a way to script a command, such as using PHP, that will dump, gzip, and FTP down a specified database when run, which I can then set up via CRON job to run daily? Backing up the site daily is not an option, it's almost 2 Gigs in size due to photo content. Or, is there another solution to back up the DBs automatically that I am missing? The applications are Joomla 1.0.15, SMF 1.1.8, and Gallery2.3 if that helps.

I want my own FTP server (dammit).

bingo — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:00:18 -0800

I want my own FTP server. Looking for advice on possible solutions. Some requirements:

a) I need to be able to create users and give them different levels of access. Each user has his own private upload area, but he also has access to specific other areas that I've given multipe users access to. So if you're a user, you have your own private (except from me) upload area, and then you also have access to upload areas for certain groups. You may have read-only access in some cases.

b) I need to be able to map a directory from my own domain to it.

c) Some directories within it need to be viewable via a web browser, so that stuff can be uploaded directly to a staging area, and then viewed in a browser.

d) Some say the FTP is a dinosaur. I am not opposed to similar solutions with other protocols. But at the end of the day, I need something that allows people with low to mid level technical knowledge to upload and download files in an environment that I control. I am not afraid of using the command line stuff myself, but my users have to be able to do everything with a GUI.

e) I am willing to consider solutions that are already hosted, and I'm also willing to consider solutions that I have to install myself... but then I would have to also find the right place to host them. My site is hosted on Dreamhost, where I do have FTP access, but not at the level of customizability described above.

Happy to answer any questions. Thanks!

Make me an IT hero!

cjorgensen — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:52:47 -0800

I am wanting to automate a SFTP daily download. We’re looking for an automated solution that will:

Allow us to daily download a directory of PDFs using SFTP from read only directories. This can be a GUI or a CL solution running on a Mac or a PC. The Mac would have 10.4 or 110.5 most likely, the PC some flavor of XP server. I am more conversant with Macs and Unix.

It will need to draw files from 6 different sub directories. We would prefer to grab only new files (ones not already downloaded).

We are behind a firewall, but I can grab the files with a GUI.

Simple, but less ugly way to present items in an online folder?

huron — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 23:55:18 -0800

I'm sharing files by dropping them into a folder in my public_html folder. Is there an easy way to generate a tasteful, simple front-end that's more appealing than the standard web-browser's text list? For a while, I was putting together simple HTML pages, which is obviously not very efficient. (By the way, this is through web-hosting, not my own server.)

I'm imagining some kind of standalone database thing that I drop into the same folder as the files. Or maybe a "miniature" WordPress that's as simple as an FTP client, and presents a file hierarchy along the lines of the MobileMe iDisk.

I suppose I wouldn't rule out trying WordPress, if that's the best (or only) way to do it. Any suggestions for plugins and themes for this purpose?

Files/video (.mp4) are downloaded. It wouldn't hurt, but there's no need for streaming, or viewing within a browser window. I know this is sounding like an FTP thing, but I can't ask people to download and poke around with FTP clients.

There are lots of file-sharing sites out there, but I'd like this material to reside on my "site". However password-protected and secure file distribution services are, the data is confidential, health-related material, and any branding at all would cause people to wonder about security.

Remembering permissions

pineappleclock — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:06:45 -0800

Is there any FTP client or trickery to remember the UNIX permissions when transferring files from a UNIX machine to a Windows machine? There would need to be a way to chmod the file on the way back as well.

Bonus points if I can recall the owner and group settings. I don't have any type of shell, just FTP access.

Web-based FTP Solution

rmmcclay — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 22:05:52 -0800

Hi - I'm looking for a web-based FTP solution for a client. The requirements are: * 100 gigs storage * Up to 100 users * Admininstrative interface to create/manage users and directory/file access * Progress bar * Can accept files up to 1G. * Non-Java (javascript OK) Any recommendations would be appreciated.

MobileMe ftw

mds35 — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 20:46:48 -0800

Make me love MobileMe. How do YOU use it? I'm half-way through a 60 day free trial of MobileMe. So far I'm not really impressed. Convince me to stay with it. Tell me why I need it.

I tried it not because I see any need but because I was curious. I have a very established Flickr page that I am not unhappy with in the least. I have my own domain and know how to use FTP so when I need to move large files around, I have a way (although MM does make it pretty easy).
I can sync contacts and calendars between my iPhone with my iMac using iTunes (and have yet to successfully do so using MobileMe--very buggy or disabled?). I have no need/desire to sync my personal machines with my box at work.

I think I don't need this, but I'm very curious to see whether & how any of you tech-savvy folks have put MM to good use.

Can you find documentation regarding Windows ftp.exe and passive mode?

Roger Dodger — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:49:10 -0800

The Windows ftp.exe command line program does not support passive mode. Can anyone point me to definitive documentation, preferably from Microsoft, that states this is true? I know this is true from testing and network traces. You can, however, issue a QUOT PASV command, which returns a server response saying the server is now in passive mode. But, ftp.exe never then connects to the server, as it should in a passive session. I am having a hard time finding any documentation for this, and a lot of people on the internet seem to think that issuing the QUOT PASV command and getting a successful response means that you are now in passive mode. The successful response just means that the server has now been placed in passive mode, not the client. Please help me find this documentation to support this fact.

Easy FTP copy link

jverdone — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:11:34 -0800

Quick & easy way to copy links within FTP I'm trying to upload files & quickly copy the links from within FTP program. Is there an easy way to do so? The only program I've found is Rightload, however, it only lets you do so one at a time. I'd like to do so from within the FTP program. Currently using Filezilla.

Sharing network drives through a firewall

SteveInMaine — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:12:12 -0800

How can I securely share files on a Windows server behind a firewall with remote users ? We have a Sonicwall firewall box with VPN, and while this works okay for remote desktop, it's really slow for file sharing. I'm currently looking into Hamachi or sftp and welcome opinions on these solutions, but am open to other ideas that are secure and relatively easy to set up and administer. Practically all of the remote users are on Windows XP machines, though there might be a stray Vista or Apple user that needs access.

How to automate FTP user creation with Pure-FTPd on Mac OS X?

lion — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:10:44 -0800

How to automate FTP user creation with Pure-FTPd on Mac OS X (running Apache) retrieving usernames and passwords from another http (linux) server? I have made for a client a website with user registration feature, hosted on a shared linux hosting.

The client of the website has an internal always turned-on Mac with XAMPP and Pure-FTPd running on OS X, connected to Internet with a static IP.

In the website, I can create a button/link which connects with phpWebFTP (a nice web FTP client) installed in htdocs on the Mac server, which connects to the FTP server (pure-FTPd) on the same machine (localhost, i.e. the Mac server); the link/button can send the username, and phpWebFTP will ask for the password. No problem on this side.

Said that, I need this: when a user registers on the website (maybe not in the very same moment, even at regular intervals is good enough), an FTP account should be created on the Mac server, with same username/password used for registration.
So I need some sort of chron job, script, reading a file from the linux server, etc... well, I don't know!

I have found the following useful page on Pure-FTPd documentation:

README.Virtual-Users

Unfortunately, I need pretty detailed and straightforward instructions on what to do on the Mac side, because:

- I am not a Mac user (but I am comfortable with terminal, command-line utils and this sort of things)

- the internal Mac server is located in a pretty distant place from me

- I have a limited amount of time to put my hands on the server, after which I have to schedule a new trip

So, for the linux shared hosting php part no details needed; for the Mac server part, something like a tutorial would be very appreciated.
Thanks, sincerely

FTP to shave minutes from my day

sycophant — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:00:28 -0800

Free FTP software with 'watch folder' support... One of the things I do at work requires that files be FTPd to a remote location once they've been through a compression program. The files are created by Sorensen Squeeze which has a watch folder, once they are done they are put by Squeeze into another folder, then I have to FTP them manually.

Work's unlikely to pay for a program, I don't want to, but I figure there must be some little open-source or free app to do the job.

Just need a folder of my own, that's all!

dance — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:04:10 -0800

Would anyone care to comment on the most practical way, given access to a command line Fedora box, I can obtain a copy of a folder and its contents? The box is connected to the net but I don't know enough Unix to, for example, get a tar of the folder and have the machine email me a copy. Although thinking about it, the folder is probably just a little too big for that. I have SSH and physical access but FTP isn't working, which is the whole problem in a nutshell, really. If anyone is interested in 10 minutes' brainstorming feel free to mefi mail me!

Cheaper alternatives to Adobe Contribute?

Idcoytco — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:29:07 -0800

What is the best way for someone without HTML knowledge (and no wish to learn) to make simple edits to an existing website? We used to use Adobe Contribute -- are there cheaper alternatives? I do computer support for a small not-for-profit which has recently moved premises. That meant losing access to the landlord's group licences for software.

Our part-time administrator has been happily using Macromedia (now Adobe) Contribute to update the website with news etc. It supplied a simple way to make updates to ordinary content with no HTML or FTP knowledge. Are there free or cheap programs to do roughly the same thing, for a simple already-existing website?