All About FTP

Adding An Account | Setting Anonymous Access | Adding Anonymous Message | Controlling Sessions

The FTP area deals with all the tools relating to setting up and managing FTP accounts, as well as managing FTP sessions. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a method by which you can transfer files between computers, usually using the Internet. There is a huge amount of information stored on FTP servers around the world that can only be accessed by using FTP. When using FTP you use an application called a "client" to connect to a machine called a "server".

There are a large number of FTP software packages available. Some of them are built in to your browser (such as Internet Explorer), others are dedicated applications (such as such as SmartFTP), while still others are built into web applications (File Manager in cPanel is one example). Generally speaking, if you are going to spend a lot of time using FTP or have a large amount of files to upload/download, a dedicated FTP client is the way to go.

cPanel allows you to set up FTP accounts so that certain external users can access a restricted part of your system. You can also set up an anonymous FTP account so that anyone can access a restricted part of your system. You can also manage these FTP sessions, cutting them off if they go on for too long.

Warning: FTP, by its very nature, allows external users to modify your web site (albeit a restricted area of your web site). External users can upload, download, and delete files. Keep this in mind when you set up an FTP account.

 

Adding An FTP Account:

An FTP account creates a folder on the public_html level of your site that allows external users that know the password to upload and download files from that location. Change your password if you think that your account is being used incorrectly.

Note: Please be aware that all users with the correct password will be able to add, edit, and delete files from the directory that you specify for the FTP account, and any directories within the stated directory.

To add an FTP account:

1. Log onto your control panel (cPanel).
2. Click on the Ftp Manager button on the home page.
3. Click on the FTP Accounts link.
4. Click on the Add Account link.
5. Enter the name of the FTP account in the Login field and the password for the account in the Password field.
6. Enter the path to the directory to which this FTP account has access.
   Warning: If you enter the top-level of the web site by entering a slash (/), all users with the correct password will be able to add, edit, and delete all files on your site. It is advisable to limit an FTP account to a smaller section of your web site.
7. Click on the Create button.

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Setting Anonymous FTP Access:

Anonymous FTP access allows anyone to access your public_ftp folder. There are two options available:

• Allow anonymous access to ftp://ftp.yourdomain.com - This allows to view, download, and delete files from your public_ftp folder.
• Allow anonymous upload to ftp://ftp.yourdomain.com/incoming - This allows to view, upload, download, and delete files from your public_ftp/incoming folder.

Warning: Anonymous FTP allows anyone access to a restricted area of your site. It is generally safest to not enable Anonymous FTP. If you do enable it, you are responsible for the bandwidth and space used.

To set Anonymous FTP access:

1. Log on to your cPanel homepage.
2. Click on the Ftp Manager button on the home page.
3. Click on the Anonymous FTP Controls link.
4. Click on the Allow anonymous access to ftp://ftp.yourdomain.com tick box or the Allow anonymous upload to ftp://ftp.yourdomain.com/incoming tick box. You must click on both tick boxes to enable uploads.
5. Click on the Save Settings button.

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Adding An Anonymous FTP Message:

You can add a message that appears in all FTP clients that access your public_ftp folder. This is usually used to add copyright notices or other warnings or comments based on the available files.

To add an Anonymous FTP message:

1. Click on the Ftp Manager button on the cPanel home page.
2. Click on the Anonymous FTP Message link.
3. Enter the message that you want visitors to see in the text area. You cannot enter HTML code - plain text only. This is created as a welcome.msg text file.
4. Click on the Save Message button.

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Controlling FTP Sessions:

You can view and terminate FTP sessions using the provided FTP session controls. This is useful for general information and stopping unwanted FTP activity.

To control FTP sessions:

1. Click on the Ftp Manager button on the cPanel home page.
2. Click on the FTP Session Control button.
3. All active FTP sessions (FTP connections that are actively uploading or downloading files) are listed.
4. Click on the Delete button next to a session to terminate that session.

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