FTP Help ....

[What]

Some friends and I all run FTPs with our respective broadband internet providers. Up until my most recent format (about 3-4 months ago) none of us ever had any problems logging onto each other FTPs. Since that time, however, I've had nothing but trouble trying to log into theirs. I can log in, but it stalls at trying to connect to a data socket. I keep getting a "failed to establish data socket" error. They can log into my FTP however. I've checked everything I know to check in both my FTP program (CuteFTP 5.0XP) and my firewall settings (Norton IS). I never had problems out of previous versions of CuteFTP, but I don't have any old versions lying around anymore.

Any ideas?

Edit: Also, if anyone can recommend another FTP program comparable in ease of use to CuteFTP, I'd appreciate it.

[BJ_M]

how about THIER firewall settings ? or router settings ? or if they are using NAT

that error is not so much on your end as the other end (if your setting are correct)..

best ftp clients (for windows anyway) are smart ftp and flashftp IMO .

[What]

Neither of them run firewalls (which I think is crazy, but whatever) and neither has a router. Nothing has changed except me upgrading to CuteFTP 5.0 XP. I have tried other random FTPs advertised on various IRC channels and I receive the same data socket error, so it seems like it would be a problem on my end, wouldn't it?

I'll give some other FTP clients a try, see if I have any luck. Thanks!

[BJ_M]

ahh your running XP ... check XP built in firewall also , also uninstall your firewall and see if that is better

[j-a-w]

You may have to enable or disable passive modes under cuteftp. That usually cause connection problems for me. Just try changing them and it should have some effect on the connection problems

[sterno]

I agree, this sounds like a passive/active FTP mode issue. Different programs have different default modes, and I've used other programs that changed the default in a new version.

Also, if anyone can recommend another FTP program comparable in ease of use to CuteFTP, I'd appreciate it.

Well, the last time I tried to use CuteFTP I decided that it would be easier to use the Windows command-line ftp client, but then I never cared for the File Manager interface it copied. It seemed very slow and clumsy compared to things like fetch for Mac or ws_ftp for Windows. Maybe CuteFTP has improved some in the past few years (I certainly hope so, if nothing else a 900MHz CPU might make performance acceptable), but I use the Windows version of ncftp now. Once you get used to ncftp nothing else feels quite right.