Hello
Having studied FTp servers for a while now and considered the risks of them, I am in agreement with most of the people here.
FTP servers are a BAD idea.
Here are why:
1. An executable file does not necessarily have to be downloaded to be a virus. Any good hacker would be able to send you instructions on how to jump an ftp server.
2. FTP servers are reliably unsecure.
3. FTP servers are the responcibility of their respective owners, in the UK at least, you can be held responsible in a court of law for those files. This is particularly a problem for people like yourself, who are not an LTD company and thus are directly responsible for your companies actions.
4. FTP servers are very slow if not managed correctly and, if managed in correctly, have been known to cause files to become corrupted.
5. Last, but not least, with the right tools, a seasoned hacker could, in fact not even a seasoned hacker, an every day hacker could use the ftp to access anything else on the server, including any websites, online games, or anything like that. They could:
5.1: delete them
5.2: release them publically in terms of sourcecode
5.3: Upload other files that could cause the hole server to overload, eventually crashing the hole thing or stopping anything from running due to the lack of space.
In summary ftp servers are, in short, extremely bad and risky.
I should know this, having done the research into this about 6 or so months ago. Furthermore, I run my own servers, not ftp thankfully, and also private, and have had to face these issues.
Trust me when I say I know exactly how damaging hackers can be.
If a person can gain source code from a game without even having your information to get that code, you can be sure an FTP server is like handing it to them on a plate.
My advice is, if you want something like this, do it through dropbox if you really must, but FTP is the quickest way to a major business crash.
Just my two pence worth
Nathan Smith
Managing Director of Nathan Tech
It's not disability
It's ability!