ftp or other solution?
 

i have a mdk 9.2 box in my home that hosts two websites and a samba server for moving files around my home computers. i do sound recording in the field sometimes on my laptop and would like to send files home for archiving when i'm out on the road. this would likely be done when i have a hotel with high speed access for example. then i could wipe the audio partition and free up space for more audio as the trip progresses.

what is the best way to safely get files to the mdk9.2 box?

specs:

notebook with xp home, wireless, lan, modem.

mdk9.2 box
is behind router
samba 2.2.8 i think
apache (whatever was current with mdk9.2)

generally what i'm wondering is if i have to set up an ftp server or if there's some way i can use the website as a means of getting the files back to this box. either way, i'd like to have the files remain private when they get to the mdk box. i'm thinking of using the mdk box as an intermediate and not as a place i would be posting the files publicly.

thanks,
BabaG

I would use the FTP on the server without guest or anonymous access. It would cover any security issues you might have since you would be able to read/write files but others (on the internet) won't have access to it.

My suggestion would be to open up port 22 on your firewall or router. Then you could SFTP or SCP (Secure FTP or Secure Copy) from your laptop to your home machine. I downloaded a free client called winSCP which I use when I am at a hotel or away from home to access my server.

Hope this helps

I'd go a step further than just opening port 22. I'd restrict access to port 22 to certain IP addresses. If you're staying at a hotel then I'd web into the firewall and change the ip address to what you need and close it again when you're finished. It's unbelievable the number of script kiddies out there that will run through a password dictionary.

thanks much for the ideas folks. maldain, i think i basically am
following your idea but can you elaborate? are you saying i
can actually change the hotel's ip address? or are you saying
i should 'web into' my own firewall? more detailed instructions,
like a step by step walkthrough your suggested process would
be much appreciated.

BabaG

I don't know about changing a dynamically assigned ip, but it should be asy to allow access through your routher to a given MAC address. That'll stay the same not matter where you connect from.

Nah, what I do here at work is when somebody is travelling they give me a call and open the ssh port up for the broadcast ip from where ever they are located and close it when they leave. You can call most hotels and they'll tell you what you need to know to set it up in advance. Depending on your firewall you could log into it remotely via a webpage...I'm a bit on the paranoid side so I have that facility turned off on our firewalls. Basically, with most firewalls you can specify specific ip's that can use specific ports and that's how we handle it.