FTP is often much more reliable than HTTP when it comes to transferring large Files. So what exactly is the difference between FTP and HTTP ? Well the most basic difference is that when you access a Website you use http:// but a FTP uses ftp://, it’s just a different Protocol.

HTTP uses port 80 of the Internet, and FTP uses port 21. If you have a Website then you will most likely already be familiar with FTP as you no doubt use it to upload Webpages to your Webserver.

To use FTP you need some FTP Software, this FTP client acts like your Web Browser but for FTP. You are able to enter the IP address, or Web address of the FTP server to connect to it.

What is an IP address ? - Well every machine or device in a Network has an IP address. This is a numeric address that other Computers use to identify you Computer. Domain Names (www.domainname.com) are just for the benefit of us Humans, every time you enter a Domain Name into your Web Browser it will get converted into the remote servers IP address, most of the time you aren’t even aware that this is happening.

It is very easy to host an FTP server on your own Computer, the warez community often uses private FTP’s to share Files. If the FTP is hosted on a private Machine, then it’s unlikely to have a Domain Name, and so you will have to enter the actual IP address of the Server.

Lots of Internet connections have dynamic IP addresses, this means that every time you connect to the internet your IP address will change. This can make it difficult to find the same Machine more than once, of course there are solutions for this. Dynamic DNS Services resolve your ever changing IP address into an easy to remember address every time that it changes.

So why would you want to use FTP to Download Files:

• You can often get access to specialised FTP addresses hosting just certain types of Files.

FTP Clients are able to act as Download Managers which means:

• They can Download a list of Files one after the other.
• They can resume Broken Downloads.
• They can schedule Downloads and Uploads.

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If you are looking to Download full Software Versions with FTP then it is of course possible, but very difficult not to mention illegal.

Many large manufacturers of Electrical Products have FTP sites to facilitate the Download of Manuals and Drivers. FTP is normally a lot quicker than HTTP.

There is of course no need to install specialist Software to connect to FTP sites, you can just use Windows Explorer, this will be enough for most people however it is pretty difficult to use. An easier Tool to Download is Bulletproof FTP Client, it’s simple to use.

Good luck on your search for Downloading Files from FTP sites, if you want to find private FTP sites then perhaps Chat Rooms would be a good place to start, just as long as you’re also willing to contribute.

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