Setting up FTP on Windows Server 2008 isn’t as easy as in previous versions and the steps you need to take vary depending on what version of IIS you have installed.
Unless you upgrade to IIS 7.5, FTP in IIS 7 is still managed with IIS 6 Manager!
Failed to Retrieve Directory Listing
The first hurdle I encountered when trying to connect using Filezilla was the error message “Failed to Retrieve Directory Listing”. Filezilla was able to connect but couldn’t list the files in the remote folder.
A work around to this is to run Filezilla in active mode (Edit > Settings > Connection > FTP > Active), but some programs that use FTP such as Windows Live Writer can’t be set to use active and prefer passive FTP. Read more about active and passive FTP.
Configuring Passive FTP on IIS
Configuring Passive FTP on IIS essentially involves configuring FTP port ranges in IIS for the passive connection and then opening up those ports in Windows Firewall on the server.
Depending on what version of IIS you have installed I can verify that both of these methods work. Although the c:\Inetpub\adminiscripts folder didn’t exist on my server so I ended up getting them from a Windows Server 2003 machine.
My advice would be to upgrade to IIS 7.5.
The title of this article speaks for itself, however preparing a Windows based computer for a life connected to the internet is not as plain sailing as it used to be.
With the amount of viruses, worms and trojan horses on the web increasing almost exponentially it's vital to make sure your computer is protected the minute you connect it to the internet.
Reports earlier this year suggest that an unpatched unprotected PC can be infected in less than 30 minutes!
Security Recommendations
The first thing I do when I've finished installing a fresh installation of Windows is to install a personal firewall. I recommend Zonealarm, it's very good and a free version is available from the link below.
Do this before connecting to the internet, if at all possible try to gather a collection of useful tools on a CD-ROM. The CD-ROM should contain a personal firewall, anti-virus software and the most recent Windows Service Pack for your version of Windows.
If you don't have the Windows Service Pack on CD then you'll need to download it. Make sure your personal firewall is up and running, then go to WindowsUpdate.com. Follow the instructions and download all the 'Critical updates'.
Once your updates have downloaded and installed restart your machine and install your anti-virus solution. I recommend the excellent AVG from www.grisoft.com, which also has a free edition.
You may also find that using an alternative web browser to Internet Explorer such as FireFox (www.getfirefox.com) or Opera (opera.com) will significantly reduce your risk of web borne viruses and spyware.
Zonealarm personal firewall
I installed XP Service Pack 2 last night for the second time after rolling it back previously.
The first time I installed it I couldn't get my Netgear MAlll wireless 802.11b USB device to work, I've since installed it on various other XP machines and with each install i've had different issues with the device.
I learned fairly early on that the supplied Netgear software wouldn't work under SP2, instead you have to opt for Windows XP wireless configuration, which incidentally has been slightly improved since SP1. Having said that it's still not perfect, since you have to enter your WEP in manually rather than use a password to create it like the Netgear software.
There are also issues with driver installation when you do a fresh install of XP and patch it with SP2 before installing the MA111.
The joy of computing :)
http://www.netgear.com/products/details/MA111.php