And, remember that all of this is taking place in the open so all user names and passwords are being transmitted in clear text not encrypted. If there is a password required and you leave it out of the URL a dialog box should pop up and ask for the password as part of the connection process to the FTP site. So, if the site requires a real user login then you must provide the username at least so the browser does not attempt to log in as user anonymous. If you leave out the user, the browser will assume that this is an anonymous login and use that along with whatever E-mail address you have put in your browser preferences as the password (anonymous FTP sites demand an E-mail address as the password for various tracking or notification reasons). Second, note that there is a part before the host domain that tells the FTP site the login information: user: These are optional but, if the site needs a login you will have to provide one at some point.

This tells the browser to use its FTP routines instead of its normal Web browsing routines. This looks imposing at first glance but, in reality is fairly simple.įirst, note that the URL does not start with but, instead, ftp://. Using a special Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or Internet address you should be able to log into most any FTP site and navigate the file tree at the site by clicking on directory listings. You don’t need to have an FTP program to download files from an FTP site.

Using ftp via browser