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Understanding FTP-
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is the simplest and most secure way to
exchange files over the Internet. Â Whether you know it or not, you
most likely use FTP all the time.The most common use for FTP is to
download files from the Internet. Because of this, FTP is the
backbone of the MP3 music craze, and vital to most online auction
and game enthusiasts. Â In addition, the ability to transfer files
back-and-forth makes FTP essential for anyone creating a Web page,
amateurs and professionals alike.
An FTP site is like a large filing cabinet. Â With a traditional
filing cabinet, the person who does the filing has the option to
label and organize the files how ever they see fit. Â They also
decide which files to keep locked and which remain public. It is the
same with an FTP site.
The virtual ‘key’ to get into an FTP site is the UserID and
Password. If the creator of the FTP site is willing to give everyone
access to the files, the UserID is ‘anonymous’ and the Password is
your e-mail address (e.g. name@domain.com). If the FTP site is not
public, there will be a unique UserID and Password for each person
who is granted access.
When connecting to an FTP site that allows anonymous logins, you’re
frequently not prompted for a name and password. Â Hence,
whendownloading from the Internet, you most likely are using an
anonymous FTP login and you don’t even know it.
You will need to download an FTP client program to be able to upload
your website. There are a variety of FTP programs available online.
I use FileZlla. FileZilla
is open source software distributed free of charge under the terms
of the GNU General Public License. After you have dowloaded the
program you will need to know the host, your username and your
password, along with the port number. You should be able to get all
this information from the site that is hosting your website. On
Hostmonster it is in the control panel under FTP accounts. When you
double click FTP accounts you will be able to add an FTP
account. Make a FTP account by creating a username and password then
click on confire FTP client and your username host and port will all
be displayed. Fill in this information along with your password at
the top of Filezilla and you should be ready to upload or download
files between your website and your computer.
Using the FTP Site can take some getting used to and you may hit
some bumps along the way until you get a little experience. If I am
having trouble I have started back from the beginning and made a new
username and password. I find FrontPage Extensions much more user
friendly and quicker so I prefer publishing through it. |
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