hosting a few files on my broadband computer

wild_eyed

i have broadband at home, but i want to allow one or two people, to access my computer and grab the occasional file.

they may be strangers

thats ok

i dont want them to have access to anything but one folder

what do i need?

it doesnt need to be on all the time.

also, if they could access the file, via http://my.ip.ad.ress/stuff/morestuff.zip

that would be sweet.

how?

Cabaal

Its against most ISP's T&C's to do this, to be honest its not worth the hassel and your better of getting some webspace and hosting files there.

One option that might interest you though is logmein.com

watty

Spend €30 a year on a hosting package. Really. Don't even consider self hosting unless you have no cap, 512K+ upload, and IT security expert*.

If an expert you won't consider home hosting, Keeping the PC & Router up 24x7 nearly costs as much as shared hosting.

Also you need Dynamic DNS or upgrade to get a fixed IP for home hosting.

zAbbo

Howdy Paul

Occasional files you say ?

Two things you need.

1. File Server
2. Port Forwarding

I'd recommend something like an FTP server - Filezilla Server is good (and free), it will allow you to specify a local folder on your PC, and even give out usernames/passwords - or just create a user called "Anonymous".

Again you can do other things like limit speed, allow them to upload etc.

Once all thats groovy, and tested that it works locally on your machine, you now need to forward port :21 on your external IP to the IP of your PC

Depends who your ISP is, and what the modem is, but it's usually straight forward, have a look at PortForward for step by step details.

Then, its just a case of giving the link to the person, eg. ftp://IP.ADD.RESS - this can be opened in a browser, they don't even need an FTP client (Unless you give them username/passwords and want them to upload)

Any help needed, let me know

booooo to the naysayers, he only wants to host a few files occasionally, not replicate a datacentre in his bedroom, plus he's a tight git

wild_eyed

hey barry, hope your well, i should know all this stuff, but its been ages since i've netted anything. i running abyss web server,

i have fixed ip and no cap

the server is running the the root of the server is c:/program files/abyss web server/

i placed a simple file in the root and attempted to download it through a proxy, but to no avail. any ideas?

zAbbo

Can you browse your site files locally? hitting up http://127.0.0.1 to test if your web server is running ok locally?

If so, drop your sharing folder/files into htdocs.

Once everythings cool locally, you need to forward port :80 on your external IP to the ip of your PC. What modem/router do you have ?

To test it's working, use http://www.canyouseeme.org/ with port 80

wild_eyed

im using a d link router, DL-524

before i open/forward port 80, how can i protect myself from viruses and or nazi's entering via 80?

also, i tested and the server is working locally.

zAbbo

There in lies the problem of home hosting it's not going to be as secure as a production hosting setup.

If it's just some adhoc file sharing, you could disable the port forwarding and file server when not in use.

Cabaal

Sign up to a webhost account with somebody like godaddy.com, much less work

zAbbo

Security is the #1 priority in Abyss Web Server. In addition to its advanced URL decoding engine which rejects malicious and suspicious requests, it features an efficient anti-hacking system which detects at an early stage hacking attempts or denial of service attacks and bans dynamically their originating IP addresses.
It is also equipped with an anti-leeching system to automatically prevent other web sites from directly linking to your images or files.

Might offer some level of protection

Praetorian

Some good advice from zabbo there, ftp server is the way to go.

Cabaal

If you must a FTP server is def the way to go, used to operate one on and off for years, very easy setup and easy secure

zAbbo

Yup, much tighter control with FTP, I used to run FTP-Serv for file sharing, very simple to use.

The solution you have going Wild_eyed *should* be fine, if you change your mind, you can always forward port:21 anyway

p.s Nichola got your album for christmas but the cd case was broken, who do we complain to

NullZer0

zAbbo wrote: »

Yup, much tighter control with FTP, I used to run FTP-Serv for file sharing, very simple to use.

The solution you have going Wild_eyed *should* be fine, if you change your mind, you can always forward port:21 anyway

p.s Nichola got your album for christmas but the cd case was broken, who do we complain to

If you have an old box just install Ubuntu / Fedora or CentOS and create a chrooted FTP setup... then your laughing that way the users that connect are "jailed" in a sense.

rav_dsl

I like the FTP idea too, but I only want access for me so I was going to forward SSH requests. I have configured the router, but unfortunately my ip is not accessible externally. Can you see me says the following:
Error: I could not see your service on 86.x.y.z on port (22)
Reason: Connection refused

So what options are available to me?