Setting Up A Home FTP Server

Setting up a Home FTP Server


[ introduction ]

Setting up a home FTP server is actually really easy, yet I have been seeing a lot of people
on IPT have been asking about it. For this reason I have decided to do a little extra work
and make everyone a tutorial on the subject. I hope after you are done reading this and
following along you will understand exactly what needs to be done and how to set
everything up correctly.



[ reasons behind setting up a FTP server ]

Although there are many reasons for setting up a home FTP server, the most common is
to be able to access there personal files from any remote location. Also that is the most
common there are a few more we should think about. A FTP server can also be
configured so that you can share your files or folders with friends or keeping things
organised off your main computer.



[ things you will need ]

1. A FTP Server client ( we will be using BulletProof)
2. A FTP client ( we will be using BulletProof)
3. A Host Services ( we will be using dyndns.com )
4. You will need to know your IP adress
5. A computer ( you better already have this lol )



[ getting started ]

The fist thing your going to need to do is grab yourself a FTP Server client and a FTP
client. Although there are 100's of clients out there, for this tut I will be using

BulletProof.FTP.Server.v2.3.1.Build.26-Lz0.





After this is all set up and installed on your computer ( the one you want to use to host your
server) move on to the next section.



[ configuring your server client ]

Open up your server client and click
setup > user accounts
A box will open up and to the right of that box you will see a column that says "USER ACCOUNTS"
and this will have no current listing in it. To change that we will right click in the open section under
USER ACCOUNTS" and hit "ADD". Now just enter a Account Name, remember it because this will
tesbe like your screen name on IPT, you will need this to access your computer later. Now with
your account name added we will set the password. In the same menu you well see a section
called "SETUP" at the bottom. Make sure the check box is check on the "LOGIN" and the
"PASSWORD" boxes. Obviously changing the password int eh "password" box is how to change
your current randomized password to anything you like. Just like your account name your going
to want to remember this as well.

Now, in the same menu, you are going to want to right click on the "ACCESS RIGHTS" section at
the top. Click the "ADD" button and set the files or drive you want to be sharing. With the folder
or drive you want selected you are going to set the permitons for the user to be able to do with it.
You will see on the right side of the "SELECT DIRECTORY" box to sub directory's
( FILES & DIRECTORIES). Under each sub directory you should see something like this...

FILES
[]READ
[]Write
[]Delete
[]Append

Directories
[]Make
[]List
[]Delete
[]+Subdirs
[]All/None

You are just going to check the boxes you want and click select. Now that is all set up you can go
ahead and click ok in the "SETUP USER ACCOUNTS" menu.


[ getting a domain ]

Although there are tones of places that offer this servace we will be using a site called

https://www.dyndns.com

Load the site up and create an account. After your all set up with DYNDNS.com you will click
on the "SERVICES" tab and the top of the web site. Under the "Domain Services" listing
click "DYNAMIC DNS". Now click on the "Dynamic DNS Free: Our free DNS tool with many
domains to choose from and integrated URL redirection functionality." link. Now just click
the "get started" tab on the right and we are almost done. You should be at this screen now



To find your IP you can click that link under the IP box or you can use the web site

www.whatsmyip.com

Fill out all the information and click"ADD TO CART". Don't worry, dyndns makes you go thorough
the check out but does not request any information like credit cards or anything. They just like
you to go through the steps of checking out for some reason (don't ask me why).


[ Port Forwarding ]

You must make sure that you have set your modem or router to enable port forwarding and open
port 21 so that you can access your new server. Because there are so many different ways to do
this I am just going to ask you to look in the "tutorial section" on IPT for more information on this.
I am assuming though, you already know how to do this because otherwise you most likely would
not have gotten this far .

[ finishing up ]

Now that everything is set up properly it is time to test it out. Open up your server client and click
the connect button. Once connected, open up you FTP client and fill out the information like
normal and enter your new domain name, user name, password. If you have followed the tut to
the T then everything should work and you can now access your computer files and/or drive
from any remote location.

Remember that there is always a use for a old computer. Just because it is outdated does not mean
it is useless. In fact old computers are great file sharing computers. So next time you find one on the side
of the road or somebody you know is going to through a computer out take it for yourself and fix it up.

ENJOY!