[stefanicotine]

I have my iMac shared via FTP, yet I can't access it from internet explorer unless I disable Passive FTP in the browser settings. Normally this wouldn't bother me, but I have alot of other users that will be connecting from their own computers and I can't explain how to disable passive FTP everytime a user wants to connect.

Any ideas? It's not a router issue, as it does this both inside and out of the network.

[cakey]

Maybe have your users use a real ftp client instead of the web browser?

[stefanicotine]

most of my users barely know how to open internet explorer. Trying to explain how to use an FTP client would be harder than trying to explain to them how to disable PASV in their browsers

[Macola]

Originally Posted by stefanicotine 

most of my users barely know how to open internet explorer. Trying to explain how to use an FTP client would be harder than trying to explain to them how to disable PASV in their browsers

I can totally relate to this...most of my PC-using clients don't even know what real FTP is anymore.

The best solution I found was to use my web host to set up an FTP server, then use an upload/download web interface. If you don't have a hosting service already, you can also use one of the dedicated file hosting services like Streamload/MediaMax.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by cakey 

Maybe have your users use a real ftp client instead of the web browser?

A "real FTP client" won't use the protocol any more effectively than a modern, FTP capable web browser. It may have more bells and whistles, but FTP is FTP-it's not the tool they're trying to use, because IE 6 for Windows is quite effective at FTP connections, and offers a lot of functionality, including drag and drop file management.

Stef, it's apparently a passive/active FTP setting issue with the iMac that's causing your problems, not the Windows clients. Is there a reason you can't just share what you need to through a Public folder on the iMac? It's not too big a deal to set up a persistent or at least "remembered" connection via SMB from a Windows machine to a Mac; my PC desktop has a "My Network Places" for my wife's Public folder on her iBook (which has Windows File Sharing enabled, of course).

[stefanicotine]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

A "real FTP client" won't use the protocol any more effectively than a modern, FTP capable web browser. It may have more bells and whistles, but FTP is FTP-it's not the tool they're trying to use, because IE 6 for Windows is quite effective at FTP connections, and offers a lot of functionality, including drag and drop file management.

Stef, it's apparently a passive/active FTP setting issue with the iMac that's causing your problems, not the Windows clients. Is there a reason you can't just share what you need to through a Public folder on the iMac? It's not too big a deal to set up a persistent or at least "remembered" connection via SMB from a Windows machine to a Mac; my PC desktop has a "My Network Places" for my wife's Public folder on her iBook (which has Windows File Sharing enabled, of course).

Normally that would be fine, but most of my users connect from outside of the local area network. It seems odd that FTP sharing in Mac has so few options for active and passive. I created a proxy to port forward to, but my router is rather old and won't support port-to-port forwarding.

If I disable my firewall then anyone can connect regardless of their settings. Obviously leaving my firewall off is not an option, but I would wonder if modifying the ipfw rules would work. I've noticed the only port open to FTP in the firewall is 21. I wouldn't mind opening up 20 as well, but basic FTP connection is through port 21 by default isn't it? So it probably wouldn't make a difference. However, I suppose modifying the firewall rules could result in a major security leak.

For now, I know the issue lies in the firewall. This should be an easy fix. I know others have done it.

[ghporter]

Someone will correct me if I get this off a bit, but IIRC ports 20 and 21 are for INCOMING and OUTGOING FTP traffic respectively.

[stefanicotine]

Port Number: 20
TCP / UDP: TCP
Delivery: Yes
Protocol / Name: ftp-data
Port Description: This is the FTP service's default data transfer port; required inbound if internal users are allowed access to external FTP sites, yet open port poses a threat (hole for network mapping, etc). Modern firewalls solve this by keeping it closed until a valid FTP session exists, then only opening it between those hosts. Control via a stateful-tracking firewall, do not simply open at perimeter.

Port Number: 21
TCP / UDP: TCP
Delivery: Yes
Protocol / Name: Juggernaut42, InvisibleFTP
Port Description: Juggernaut 42, Invisible FTP

Taken from http://www.auditmypc.com. I don't know what they mean by Juggernaut42 though...

[Tuoder]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Someone will correct me if I get this off a bit, but IIRC ports 20 and 21 are for INCOMING and OUTGOING FTP traffic respectively.

20 and 21 are the ones used for FTP, but I really can't remember what each is for.