Free FTP sites?

71T Targa · 03-19-2008, 06:17 AM

Anyone know of a free FTP site that I could use? I'm looking at putting up video files that friends and family could download. The files are @150M per.

gr8fl4porsche · gr8fl4porsche's Garage

You can set up your own computer as a ftp server using a free program called Serv-U. It takes a little reading but it is something you can do.

id10t · 03-19-2008, 06:46 AM

Most of the picture/video sharing sites won't handle that size file... of course, that also depends on quality, etc. since some go based on run-length

You could always get a 1and1.com web hosting account - they have metric buttloads of disk and bandwidth for less than $10/mo...

71T Targa · 03-19-2008, 06:56 AM

I'll looking at hosting myself. Can I do this with my Mac? Serv-U just talks about it's windows support.

gr8fl4porsche · gr8fl4porsche's Garage

Not a mac guy - can't help ya.

Any mac gurus use ftp servers at home?

id10t · 03-19-2008, 06:59 AM

phred68 - sure can. In fact, instead of FTP you can just use the built-in Apache webserver...

71T Targa · 03-19-2008, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by id10t

phred68 - sure can. In fact, instead of FTP you can just use the built-in Apache webserver...

GREAT! And I would do that how?

stealthn · 03-19-2008, 08:14 AM

You can do it all on your Mac. You access everything via System Preferences....Sharing. You will need to know your "Outside" public IP address and allow ports through your firewall to the IP address of your Mac. Beware thar be devils on that Internet....

Good luck

stomachmonkey · 03-19-2008, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phred68

I'll looking at hosting myself. Can I do this with my Mac? Serv-U just talks about it's windows support.

With a Mac you need nothing more than to go to Prefs and turn on FTP.

Set up accounts for peopel and done

stomachmonkey · 03-19-2008, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phred68

GREAT! And I would do that how?

If you are running OS X open a finder window, see the "Sites" folder?

That is your default web host directory.

drop your stuff in there

go to prefs and turn on web sharing

give people your external ip

make sure port 80 is open on your router and that your isp does not block it

if you want to test your apache config, turn on web sharing, opena browser and type 'localhost" you should see an apache or apple welcome page

widebody911 · widebody911's Garage

RapidShare is an alternative, although I don't know what the upload limits are...

71T Targa · 03-19-2008, 09:17 AM

GREAT information. I'll try and set this up once I'm home tonight.

id10t · 03-19-2008, 09:35 AM

You also probably want to set up an account with dyndns.org - you get a feww subdomain (phred68.dyndns.org) and you can set the Mac up so that it will update your DNS info each time your IP changes... so you won't have to send people to a numeric address, you'll just use your name.

911Rob · 911Rob's Garage

Hey, sorry in advance cuz I'm not a full fledged geek; but I wouldn't want my PC open to the web. If it were me; and I do this ALL the time, just set up a domain name with a host; cost is about $40 to $50/year. Then install a FTP software tool on your PC to load up your files. Each file can have its own link and people can access them all day long.

I use www.goDaddy.com for the domain registry and host. very simple
I use Rhino softward for the FTP tool.

Anyway, good luck...... share your links when you get 'er done.
Cheers,

id10t · 03-19-2008, 12:38 PM

911Rob - a certified Unix system (OS X 10.4 is a certified Unix) certainly has the potential to safely serve files up to the 'net... Now a computer with XP on it or Vista? No Way...

stomachmonkey · 03-19-2008, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by id10t

You also probably want to set up an account with dyndns.org - you get a feww subdomain (phred68.dyndns.org) and you can set the Mac up so that it will update your DNS info each time your IP changes... so you won't have to send people to a numeric address, you'll just use your name.

Yeah, good call.

I'll add that a lot of home broadband routers come with dyndns support built into them so you can set the account info at the router level and it handles the updates w/out a need to run the update client on your computer.

71T Targa · 03-19-2008, 05:39 PM

Alright, a couple of questions... How do I tell my external address? I'm pretty sure it's not 192.168.1.101...

And when I open my 'finder' window I don't see a 'sites' folder. I have desktop, Library,

id10t · 03-19-2008, 05:48 PM

go to http://checkip.dyndns.org and it will tell you what your current IP is.

Also, like posted above, check your router config - it probably has dyndns support built in..

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

I have a Buffalo Linkstation. It has a built in FTP server. I setup my router to route FTP traffic directly to the FTP server. It is Username and Password protected. I then setup a DNS entry with DynDNS. They will host one for you for free, if you pick it from one of the free domains. The have one where it is (yourchoice).ftpaccess.cc

The more recent Linkstations are in the Terrabyte region. Cheap storage. And they are hackable. You can actually turn it into a low level webserver.

71T Targa · 03-19-2008, 05:59 PM

DDNS is currently disabled on the router. And both my PC and Mac have the same address when I go to http://checkip.dyndns.org