FTP access

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What is FTP

The FTP protocol is described in RFC 959 and it's purpose is sending files over a TCP connection.

It is a layer 7 (OSI) protocol, which uses the standard port 21.

The client connects to an FTP server and has then the possibility to list, download, upload, rename extra. the files on the server that his user has access to.

Active vs Passive Mode

The FTP protocol was designed to use active mode by default. This means for the actual file transfer the client opens a listening port and tells the server this port, so that the server can connect to this port and send the files. The server normally uses sourceport 20 for this connection.

Nowadays, everybody and his brother has his own network with a router and firewalls, which makes the clients mostly unreachable for the server.

This is where passive mode comes in. Here, the server opens an additional port and tells the client about it. Now the client connects to this port and the server starts sending the data.

Fxp

FXP is a server to server ftp connection, which allows you to transfer files from one fast server to the next fast server without having to download and upload the files from/to your slow DSL home line.

The average user will probably never have to use FXP.

Clients

Most browsers support FTP nowadays. The syntax is: ftp://username:password@server.tld

While this might be sufficient if you just want to download some file, you might want to look into real FTP clients for advanced usage. See below.

There are a lot of clients for the various operating systems. Listed here some of the common ones:

gftp

• Gnome based FTP Client
• OS: Linux
• Homepage: www.gftp.org
• Current stable version: 2.0.18 (August 08)

This graphical client is much for the average linux user, as its easy to use and supporting most of the basic functionality one would need.

kftpgrabber

• Graphical FTP Client for KDE
• OS: Linux
• Homepage: kftpgrabber.sf.net
• Current stable version: 0.8.1 (August 08)

Very nice client that integrates well into the K Desktop environment. You have to try this one if you are using KDE.

lftp

• Sophisticated ftp client
• OS: Linux
• Homepage: lftp.yar.ru
• Current stable version: 3.7.1 (August 08)

This command line client has support for FTP, SFTP, HTTP, HTTPS and much more. Recommended for advanced users.

ncftp

• Extremely configurable ftp client
• OS: Linux
• Homepage: ncftp.com
• Current stable version: 3.2.1 (August 08)

The command line client for the hacker. Supports anything that you need.

FireFTP

• Easy to use FTP for Firefox - supports SFTP
• OS: Independent - Firefox Browser Extension
• Homepages: Mozilla Add-ons Site MozDev Homepage
• Current stable version: 1.0.3

FileZilla

• Comprehensive Windows FTP client - supports SFTP
• OS: Independent
• Homepage: FileZilla-Project.org
• Current stable version: 3.2.7