Righto,

What's the easiest way of setting up and FTP site ? How secure can it be ??

 

well im running a secure FTP through SSH Secure Shell using a dynamic IP (no-ip.com).... its reasonably secure.
Its seriously tweaked and does logging etc... its not over complicated to setup.
easy ways to setup a FTP generally do not mean the secure method.

 

do you want to run a FTP server on your desktop PC?

 

Yeah, soa few close friends can aquire stuff off me that they may see fit to benefit themselves

 

this may be suitable for you

http://www.rejetto.com/hfs/

you can password protect it and ban ip's..... etc

 

Thanks m8, I shall give it a go once I have vista *cough cough*

 

Only bad thing about setting up a ftp from your own PC is your upload speed wont be the greatest and anyone downloading thru your ftp will slow down your PC

Get yourself a cheap dedicated server from a hosting company

 

I have a spare time machine that I could setup Windows 2000 server or 2003 server, and fill it with loads of hard drives, but I don't really have the room at the moment

 

the problem with renting a dedicated server from a hosting company is the cost and if you just want to share a few files with friends the small http fileserver I posted is perfectly fine and capable.

 

Dedicated servers dont need to be expensive. Can rent one thats perfect for sharing files etc with friends etc for £20/30 month.

I'm taking it this small http fileserver you posted about is still run off your machine? UK upload speeds suck so if you go uploading music or even a 700Mb movie or 350Mb tv show to allow your friends to download then it's going to take sometime for them to download the files which defeats the purpose of FTP as in my books they're suppose to be quick downloads you get from them or at least the ones I use day in and out are quick.

Dan pm me what sort of files you'd like to use for FTP and I possibly could make some room on my server to let you use as a FTP

 

Agreed that the upload speeds on most uk connections are slow however who want to pay £20 - £30 a month hosting just to allow friends to download from them ?

This is without mentioning the fact that you have to upload to the dedicated host with the very connection speeds being complained about.

This is without discussing the legality of the files being shared and how hosting them effects your legal standing

If your sharing large files with friends you could also set up a private BTtracker and share the bandwidth demands across your friends.

Many ways to skin a cat.... depending upon how you need it