Introduction
The answer to the question "So What's Out There?" is just about everything.
Numerous servers on the Internet have established massive archives
of freely available material. FTP sites somewhere will satisfy interests in stock prices, literature, golf,
games software, Korean news etc. etc.
The 'anonymous' login deserves a brief explanation as this is the method used to access most of the
publicly accessible sites all over the world.
The later topics will look at methods for finding FTP sites, or finding files contained
on FTP sites, and some example sites are provided.
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The 'anonymous' login
The most common method for accessing publicly accessible sites is by using the 'anonymous' login. This
is nothing more than a standard that has been adopted over the years.
For security reasons due to its military origins, the FTP protocol requires that a username and
password is needed in order to connect to, or login to a server.
If you have, or are intending to publish web pages, you will be required to login with a username and
password provided by your ISP so that only you have access to the source of your web site.
However, a number of sites are generally accessible by anyone, and the contents of the site may be
browsed or downloaded as you choose. So that there is no need to remember different username and passwords
for many different publicly accessible FTP sites, the common standard of using
'anonymous' as the username, along with your email address as the password has been adopted.
The anonymous login is the default login setting in Terrapin FTP Browser so you will not need to type
it in every time.
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Methods for finding FTP sites
One of the simplest ways to find FTP sites is web surfing. You can't help but stumble across FTP sites
surfing the web, all you need to know is how to recognise that you are on one.
In the document "WWW and FTP Contrasted" the 'FTP challenge' let you know that the status bar in the
bottom left hand corner of your web browser informed you of the protocol that will be used to transfer the file.
If it starts ftp:// then you know its an FTP file transfer.
The simplest way to download it using FTP and to also get the benefits of a dedicated FTP client
is to drag the URL from your web browser to the FTP Server window of Terrapin FTP Browser.
This will prompt Terrapin to connect to the server and autmatically open up the File Tree to the
correct directory. Then simply open up the local view to a directory in which you want to save the file and drag
the file accross. You'll be able try out URL drag drop on the links below as they are all live.
An added feature with Terrapin FTP Browser is that you will then be able to save the Site Map (see
"New users FAQ" for an explanation of Site Maps) to browse
off line, and there may well be more of interest on the server than just the file in question. Web/FTP
surfing is a good way to find FTP sites.
Using the web search engines is also a good starting point, you will also find that a
number of web sites actively encourage users to visit their FTP sites. They will provide you with the
address and it will pay dividends to use it. Firstly it will help ease the load on their web server (this
can be quite a concern for busy sites) so in this respect you'll be helping them out too. You'll also be
helping yourself due to the inherent benefits in using FTP to transfer files.
The "New users FAQ" will give you some tips on navigating FTP sites for the first time. If you are very
new to FTP it may be beneficial to read the FAQ before visiting the FTP sites. For example, it would help
you greatly if you read the New users FAQ on 'How do I add file descriptions?' and using Readme.doc files.
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The Archie Search
A method dedicated to finding files on FTP servers is the Archie Search. A number of major FTP
sites regularly have their contents catalogued by 'Archie' search engines.
Archie searching does differ from using the normal web search engines in one fundamental way. The
Archie search enables you to search files by file name, as apposed to potentially relevant web sites by
description.
You do not need to know the complete file name as you can search for matches to part of a name. You
do however have to have a rough idea of what the file name is.
You will find web sites that utilise the Archie engine to search for files in this manner, but Terrapin
FTP Browser has a built in Archie search feature as standard. You can find this on the main menu by clicking
Search... Search the Internet or by clicking the
toolbar
short cut icon.
This will display the Archie Search interface. To perform a search, input the file name (or part of) in to
the input box entitled 'Search For'. Then select an Archie Search engine (or database)
on which to perform your search from the drop down list. Then, after connecting to the Internet, click the
'Search' button. If the file is found the locations from where it is available will be displayed in the
window below.
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Example FTP sites
It must be said that providing examples poses problems in itself. Firstly due to the amount
of information that is available and, secondly, there is no way of knowing the readers interests.
We have therefore tried to assemble a few FTP sites that may be of interest in
themselves or have been chosen for the sole purpose of illustrating the diverse preoccupations
that FTP can accommodate.
Whilst we have only provided a dozen or so categories, we necessarily cannot warrant the
suitability of content. Please treat these as purely examples of what you can find.
Astronomy
look under /pub/astro for subdirectories contain files that cater for astronomical interests.
Cooking
will provide simple recipes for the ingredients at hand.
Drinking Games
to purely illustrate the diversity of the Internet, under pub/drinking_games you will find exactly that.
Games Software
If games software is a target then you are a bit spoiled for choice. As an example try:
Most large FTP sites will nearly always have a directory entitled 'Games'.
Government
Want to know what the Geneva Convention was all about?:
Languages
If you need to get hold of a foreign dictionary in a hurry then, you'll find Dutch, German, Russian and
Swedish catered for here, to name but a few:
Law
The decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court of Justice are published here:
Literature
The Gutenberg project has a massive archive of electronic literature.
You can find everything from the works of Charles Dickens to Lincoln's inaugural address.
Mathematics
If resources on calculus are required then this may help:
Music
Here you can find the guitar chords to a quite unbelievable array of popular music.
The Eagles directory, is only one of a number within 'e'.
Politics
Software
Arguably the most useful use of FTP is downloading software. There is a veritable myriad of good quality
software out there that is available for you to download and try.
One of the more authoritative sites on the Internet is:
Star Trek
Star Trek stories and Parodies are catered for here:
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Software updates/PC maintenance
FTP comes into its own in this environment; there is no better Internet tool for downloading software.
Software updates, or patches, are regularly made available by all the leading software producers. These
can sometimes be difficult or time consuming to find on the web.
Knowing the producers FTP site can pay dividends and more often than not it will not be difficult to find. In
the document "WWW and FTP Contrasted", when discussing URL's the point was made that something of a convention
has been established with the address of FTP sites. Nine times out of ten if the web address is
www.name.com then the FTP address will be ftp.name.com.
For example, if you want to find the latest patch to your operating system try looking at:
You will find just about everything in /softlib/msfiles/. The
msfiles directory is massive but there is a an index.txt document in the
softlib directory which will tell you what is there.
You will find updates not only to the operating system but also to Word, Excel and all other Microsoft
products.
The potential list of useful sites is endless but here are a few more examples:
Where you will find the latest versions and updates to Navigator and the Communicator suite.
For updates to CorelDRAW and Word Perfect.
Drivers for Diamond Video cards and much more is available here.
For the latest Soundblaster drivers.
If you use Epson printers here is the quickest way to find and download the latest printer driver.
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