Local FTP

[David P. Schwartz]

John W wrote:

> On Sunday 23 December 2001 08:25 pm, you wrote:
> > "David P. Schwartz" wrote:
> > > You can set your server to watch on whatever port you want.  If you have
> > > a firewall or router (like a Cisco 675/8 modem), you'll probably need to
> > > enable the port(s) you want other than port 80.  NOTE: this can make it
> > > appear that the ISP is blocking the ports, when in fact the block is on
> > > your end.
> > >
> > > You could also set up a basic web server on port 80 then load up some
> > > pages that allow directory browsing, which would accomplish about the
> > > same thing as an FTP server.  But I'd definitely provide a login screen
> > > for such a method!
> >
> > ----
> > I was never real keen on allowing directory browsing - seems to be a
> > security risk - but I guess that if you use https, it is better than ftp
> > which transmits passwords in the clear - not much security there but if
> > you are determined to use ftp, at least you can chroot real users.
> >
> > Craig
>
>  Seems that the consensus is to run a webserver with the ability to upload
> files. I have read that FTP creates many hazards and really wasn't keen on
> doing that but I am also very experienced in setting up or running any form
> of server on Linux.
>
> John

Another option is to use something like Yahoo's Briefcase or one of the other shared "hard drives in the sky".

Isolation is always a good approach to security; you could get yourself a cheap PC and set it up as a dedicated server just for this
purpose.  About the only thing you'd have to worry about is somebody hijacking it for use as one of those distributed denial of service
worms as there wouldn't be anything else of interest that isn't available elsewhere except your files.

On a somewhat unrelated topic, I saw a cool PC enclosure at Fry's today.  It's a small lunch-box sized barebones system made by a
company named Shuttle.  Here's a link: http://www.shuttleonline.com/sv24.htm  You just add a CPU, RAM, and HDD.  For under $500 you
could have your own internet appliance with a 1GB CPU, 512 MB RAM and 20GB HDD -- your choice of OS. :-)

-David