On 2/26/05 7:58 PM, "Dan Crutcher" <dcrutcher at loumag.com> wrote:
> I want to use a Mac at work as an FTP server for clients to drop and > pick up files. The Mac is running OS X 10.3.8. Anyone have advice or > references to information that would help me set this up? Yes > > I already have turned on FTP sharing and opened the correct port > through the firewall. I have no trouble connecting from home on my Mac, > but I'm not sure if PCs would also be able to upload/download from this > server. Have you tried this yet from a PC? Only way to know is to try. > > And I wouldn't want one client to have access to the files of another > client, so I need some way to set up a username/password system for > each client. Is this best accomplished by setting up each client as a > user in the Mac's Accounts preferences? Or is there some easier/better > way? You'll need to setup an account for each person and give them a password. > > I do not have Mac OS X Server? Would that make this task significantly > easier? Mac OS X Client is limited to 10 simultaneous logins, where the US$1000 version of server is unlimited. > > Should I worry about hackers getting in through my open FTP port? FTP is very insecure due to the fact that when a person on the other end connects to your MacOS X machine via FTP, their username and password are passed across the Internet in clear text, which means that anyone watching traffic now has your IP address, the username, and the password. My advice is to NOT turn on FTP and instead turn on Remote Login, which turns on ssh and essentially something called SFTP. Then you still create all the different users and give them passwords. For your Mac people who are going to connect, head to Version Tracker and have them download Fugu, which is a free application that allows secure connections (SFTP, not FTP S=secure). For your Windows people, try Version Tracker and click on the Windows tab and search for Core FTP LE or WinSCP or EngInSite DataFreeway. All three of these are free and seem to support sftp and ssh, which is what you turned on on your Mac. Remember that FTP, ssh, and SFTP do NOT copy resource forks, which some applications still use when saving files. I would suggest you test will all types of files to insure you do not have an problem later on down the road. Now, when they transfer the files to your Mac, you will not be able to see those files unless they put them in a folder that you can also see. But since you do not want everyone to see each other's files, you must have access to ALL the folders where they put the files. Makes sense so far. So, you will have to change permissions of the folders where they drop the files so you can see them too. I see an excellent learning experience for you here Dan. You can challenge yourself to learn how to setup their folders so both they-and you-have access. Without going into the command line, do a get info on each person's home folder and see what the permissions are. I'll give you a hint, you'll also want to download SharePoints for your Mac, as it allows the creation of groups and the modifications of share points. Proper setup and testing should have you humming right along. Schoun > > Dan > > > > > | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will > | be February 22. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. > | List posting address: <mailto:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu> > | List Web page: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup> | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will | be February 22. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. | List posting address: <mailto:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu> | List Web page: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup>
