How to configure ftp.exe to use passive mode (PASV)?

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How can I configure ftp.exe to use passive mode (PASV)?

By ftp.exe, I mean \windows\system32\ftp.exe, which I execute by Start
> Run > cmd > ftp. (I call this MS ftp.)

On a whim, I have set Passive FTP in Internet Explorer (Tools >
Internet Options > Advanced). Concomitantly, "use PASV" is set to
"yes" in the Registry under HKEY_USERS\S-1-...\Software\Microsoft
\FTP. All to no avail. (Should it also be set somewhere else?)
 
Re: How to configure ftp.exe to use passive mode (PASV)?

curiousgeorge408@hotmail.com wrote in news:9fa53e10-e2f2-40e5-9596-
77820884018d@2g2000hsn.googlegroups.com:

> How can I configure ftp.exe to use passive mode (PASV)?
>
> By ftp.exe, I mean \windows\system32\ftp.exe, which I execute by Start
>> Run > cmd > ftp. (I call this MS ftp.)
>
> On a whim, I have set Passive FTP in Internet Explorer (Tools >
> Internet Options > Advanced). Concomitantly, "use PASV" is set to
> "yes" in the Registry under HKEY_USERS\S-1-...\Software\Microsoft
> \FTP. All to no avail. (Should it also be set somewhere else?)
>

From all accounts I have seen and my own experience, the ftp.exe that comes
with XP does not support PASV.
For this and other reasons (better scripting, etc.), I use ncftp -
available for free from http://www.ncftp.com
 
Re: How to configure ftp.exe to use passive mode (PASV)?

the ftp command line is:

ftp> quote pasv

and yes it is supported, it'll respond w/ "227 entering passive mode
(...)".

good luck
 
Re: How to configure ftp.exe to use passive mode (PASV)?

frodo@theshire.net wrote:

>the ftp command line is:
>
>ftp> quote pasv
>
>and yes it is supported, it'll respond w/ "227 entering passive mode

Yeah, but....
That tells the server to go into passive mode, the client still knows
nothing about it. According to
http://www.iss.net/security_center/advice/Services/FTP/PASV/default.htm

<QUOTE>
Many FTP clients do not support PASV transfers. For example, the
standard FTP.EXE built into Windows does not support this feature. The
user can still do a "quote PASV", which will tell the server to enter
PASV mode, but the client still will not work in this mode. (This is a
common problem, users enter "quote PASV" but things still don't work).
</QUOTE>

--
Tim Slattery
MS MVP(Shell/User)
Slattery_T@bls.gov
http://members.cox.net/slatteryt
 
Re: How to configure ftp.exe to use passive mode (PASV)?

On Oct 24, 9:28 am, Tim Slattery <Slatter...@bls.gov> wrote:
> fr...@theshire.net wrote:
> > the ftp command line is:
> > ftp> quote pasv
> > and yes it is supported, it'll respond w/ "227 entering passive mode
>
> Yeah, but....
> That tells the server to go into passive mode, the client still knows
> nothing about it. According to
> http://www.iss.net/security_center/advice/Services/FTP/PASV/default.htm

Thanks for the confirmation. I appreciate this pointer.

I had tried "quote pasv" previously, and a network trace showed that
it does send PASV, and the ftp server does respond with "entering
passive mode".

But subsequent transmissions from the ftp client were not right, and
the FTP dir, get or put command timed out.
 
Re: How to configure ftp.exe to use passive mode (PASV)?

curiousgeorge408@hotmail.com wrote:
> On Oct 24, 9:28?am, Tim Slattery <Slatter...@bls.gov> wrote:
> > fr...@theshire.net wrote:
> > > the ftp command line is:
> > > ftp> quote pasv
> > > and yes it is supported, it'll respond w/ "227 entering passive mode
> >
> > Yeah, but....
> > That tells the server to go into passive mode, the client still knows
> > nothing about it. According to
> > http://www.iss.net/security_center/advice/Services/FTP/PASV/default.htm

> Thanks for the confirmation. I appreciate this pointer.

> I had tried "quote pasv" previously, and a network trace showed that
> it does send PASV, and the ftp server does respond with "entering
> passive mode".

> But subsequent transmissions from the ftp client were not right, and
> the FTP dir, get or put command timed out.

Well, I did some investigating and here's what I found. My ftp script has
had the "quote pasv" command line in it for years. I use it every day to
sync w/ a unix box, and it works fine. As I recall I _HAD_ to add that
line to get it to work, because of a firewall at my end (ZA). Back then
(years ago) I connected via a dial-up modem.

For grins I just took the pasv line out of the script, and everything
still works just fine; I still have ZA running too, but now I go thru my
LAN port to a FIOS router; I imagine the (modern) router's NAT function is
handling the Active Mode connection properly.

reference: http://www.slacksite.com/other/ftp.html

But, bottom line, with or without it my ftp sessions work just fine. I am
using the (primitive) MS-provided win-xp ftp client. There are many
(better) ftp clients out there, perhaps you should try another. Or
perhaps your router needs a setting tweak.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.
 
Re: How to configure ftp.exe to use passive mode (PASV)?

curiousgeorge408@hotmail.com wrote:

>I had tried "quote pasv" previously, and a network trace showed that
>it does send PASV, and the ftp server does respond with "entering
>passive mode".

>But subsequent transmissions from the ftp client were not right, and
>the FTP dir, get or put command timed out.

Sounds right to me. The server is in passive mode, so it's sent the
client a port number to connect to, and is waiting for the client to
connect. The client is in active mode, so it's waiting for the server
to connect to it. And everybody waits forever.

--
Tim Slattery
MS MVP(Shell/User)
Slattery_T@bls.gov
http://members.cox.net/slatteryt
 
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